• Reuters , Thursday, November 13, 2008 11:31 AM

Microsoft is socializing the suite of products that fall under the Windows Live brand. The software giant on Wednesday said the next release of Windows Live will integrate e-mail, instant messaging, photos and Web applications from other companies into a single platform. The idea is to position Windows Live as the hub for using Microsoft's products as well as other companies' Internet applications, and to incorporate new features similar to those found on social sites like Facebook.

In fact, Reuters claims the move puts Microsoft in direct competition with such social networking sites, which opened their doors to outside software developers last year. The move into Facebook's turf is somewhat ironic considering that Microsoft serves ads on Facebook and owns a 1.6 percent stake in the company valued at $240 million.

According to Reuters, the new Windows Live service features a main profile page that updates users to their friends' activities within Windows Live and on more than 50 outside Web services, like Yahoo's Flickr photo site and professional social networking site LinkedIn. Microsoft said that Web users are now overrun with accounts at multiple Web sites, which require that they remember a user name and password for each one. The company said its goal is to simplify this process for users by aggregating services that allow them to sign in only once.

Read the whole story at Reuters »