It is about time, but Twitter has now announced that it is rolling out a real time search function for users. Unfortunately the 'Search and Trends' feature is currently only available for a "limited set of accounts" according to Twitter founder Biz Stone who adds that most people "will not see this test, just a small, random subset."

Still, it has to be a good thing to get any inconsistencies ironed out before releasing the new search facility into the wild as it were, especially given the incredible growth in popularity of Twitter in recent months. With celebrity tweets being followed by the tabloid press as well as the interest of we the technology media, any slip ups are sure to be widely reported.

If anyone is lucky enough to be amongst the Twitter search guinea pigs, drop us a line and let us know how you are getting on with it and what is included feature wise.

I'm all for the concept of real time Twitter trend filtering, especially as it promises to provide a look into the current thoughts of people, celebs and plebs alike, as well as business organisations around the world. As Biz Stone says "Whether you're curious about something specific or you just want to browse the trending topics, we've found that Twitter Search adds a new layer of relevance."