Google users lose access to their email and documents as 'disruption' hits search giant

Google's mail and application services are unavailable to some users, the search giant has admitted.
The company says it is investigating the problems, but doesn't know their cause.
Google's apps status dashboard shows that its Mail, Drive file storage service and office-application services are 'disrupted.'

Google's mail and apps were unavailable for users this afternoon. The firm said it was investigating a 'disruption' to its services

Its administrator control panel, which lets companies manage their Google applications, is completely down.
The disruptions started affecting people worldwide around 8 a.m. Eastern time (noon GMT).
Google says it's 'working hard to restore normal operation.'

The company disclosed on its website that six of its 13 applications were having partial status disruptions.

However, it is believed the number of users affected was small - the issue with Gmail, for example, is believed to be affecting less than 0.007 percent of Google Mail users, who cannot access their accounts.

The error message seen by some Google users today