A-B opted to partner with a new player in the space rather than launch its own offering or go with a giant like MySpace or Facebook.

Just a few of the brands that in the last year have unveiled social networking tools are MTV Network's Nickelodeon, which launched a virtual world and social network dubbed "Nicktropolis" in January, and Disney.com, which also introduced its social networking tool in January. In October, Wal-Mart shut down its ill-fated experiment with social networking, dubbed "The Hub."

The Anheuser-Busch effort differs on a few fronts. The company partnered with a startup so it could be integrated during the development process. The only brand appearing directly on the site is "Here's to Beer," a beer industry promotion that A-B is sponsoring exclusively. The promotion invites visitors to post pictures of "clinks"--friends toasting with beer bottles or mugs. MingleNow.com only recently began offering photo-sharing.

Pete Blackshaw, chief marketing officer for buzz-monitoring firm Nielsen-BuzzMetrics, said that thus far, MingleNow's promotion of the Here's to Beer campaign has yet to gain much traction in the blogosphere.

"Participation and buzz is sparse at best so far," he said. "And as we learned with Wal-Mart, building a social network around a brand, even when the brand is subtle, is no cakewalk." MingleNow quietly began a beta test in January, promoting the site virally at clubs and bars on the West Coast.

But Jim Nail, chief strategy and marketing officer for social media monitoring firm Cymfony, said that Anheuser-Busch was smart to position the promotion as one for beer in general, and not simply its brand.

"Communities aren't about brands, they're about passions--and brands can be part of that," he said. "They were very smart not to say 'Hey, come be part of the Anheuser-Busch community.' People don't care about that. They care about having a good time with their friends."

Moreover, Nail said, an emerging, niche social media company like MingleNow.com likely allowed Anheuser-Busch more flexibility than would a MySpace or a Facebook. "Anytime you get that big, it's harder to be flexible and it's harder to accommodate the different kinds of needs of different kinds of advertisers," he said.

Meanwhile, A-B downplayed the issue of making the site available to minors, saying that the Mingle Now experience is all about taking pictures in clubs that are not legally open to underage drinkers.

A totally different Budweiser online initiative, Bud.tv, used an age authentication sequence to gain entry, but still drew some attention from attorneys general.

MingleNow.com incorporates an entertainment component featuring a nightlife directory and invitations.

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