Opera Software today released a beta version of Opera Unite, which the firm claims can turn any computer into a client/server for sharing documents and other media.

The Norwegian browser developer said that the release would shake up the old model of the web, and let the home computer serve content to other computers directly across the internet.

Opera Unite will let users chat with friends without signing into a third-party application, and share photos, movies and other content simply by providing friends and contacts with an address to a computer rather than to a site like YouTube.

"Running an application will give you a direct web address to the Opera Unite application on your device. This link will also allow others to access the same web application from your computer through their web browser," the firm explained.

These basic sounding features are available now, but Opera is encouraging external development as it seeks to build on the platform.

"We invite developers all over the world to use their creativity and imagination to push the boundaries of what is possible with Opera Unite," said Jon von Tetzchner, chief executive at Opera.

"We are moving closer to our goal of reinventing the web, and are excited to see Opera Unite continue to evolve in powerful and compelling ways."

Tutorials are available for interested developers, and Opera said that the system was designed to be easy to build on.

"To create an Opera Unite application, a web developer needs only to know the same open web standards they use every day, such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript," said the firm.