• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 5, 2012

Instagram is following the example of another mobile app—Foursquare—in building out its Web presence in contrast to the broader shift underway of Web properties extending to mobile. The popular photo-sharing app today announced the launch of profile pages for the Web, rolling out in the next few days.

Not surprisingly, the profiles are photo-centric and position Instagram to take on Pinterest more directly as an image-based social network appealing to brands.

“Your web profile features a selection of your recently shared photographs just above your profile photo and bio, giving others a snapshot of the photos you share on Instagram. In addition, you can follow users, comment & like photos and edit your profile easily and directly from the Web, the company stated in a blog post.

Previously, only individual photos could be seen on Instagram.com. Now people and brands can link to their Instagram accounts, but users still can’t upload photos or search Instagram from the Web.

An account set to public, will allow anyone to see the profile by visiting Instagram.com/username, for example instagram.com/nike. Photos set to private, will only be seen by logged-in Instagram followers of that account.

Instagram has more than 100 million registered users worldwide.