Online giants strike partnership

Hong Kong - Two of the internet's biggest sites, MySpace and Google, have teamed up to launch a social networking platform OpenSocial just weeks after Microsoft partnered with Facebook.

It is yet to be revealed how advertising will be implemented on OpenSocial and the opportunities for marketers, but the technology will greatly simplify the development of social applications.

OpenSocial is the first time that multiple social networks have been made accessible under a common platform.

"The web is fundamentally better when it's social, and we're only just starting to see what's possible when you bring social information into different contexts on the web," Jeff Huber, senior vice president of engineering at Google, said. 

"There's a lot of innovation that will be spurred simply by creating a standard way for developers to run social applications in more places. 

OpenSocial has commitment from sites including Bebo, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, MySpace and business network Xing.

Chris DeWolfe, chief executive officer and co-founder of MySpace, said the partnership with Google allows developers to gain massive distribution without unnecessary development for every separate platform.

"This is about helping the start-ups spend more time building a great product rather than rebuilding it for every social network. We're pleased to collaborate with Google to establish a landmark standard for social applications."