Computer giant Microsoft has thrown its hat into the social networking ring with the release of new Windows Live applications. There is a "race to simplify the Web," Windows Live General Manager Brian Hall told the San Jose Mercury News on Thursday.

Microsoft's latest offering will help it compete with Facebook and MySpace, while previous applications like Hotmail, Web storage tool SkyDrive, the Calendar, Messenger and social network Spaces will continue to be available. However, users will now be able to personalise home.live.com to adapt to individual choices. Hotmail and Messenger have been revamped, Hall said.

Options similar to Facebook include choosing what contacts to receive feeds from and sharing photographs. Microsoft also ventured with music-discovery features like iLike and Pandora so users receive updates in the feed.

“Analysts noted that Microsoft is far from alone in moving to capture a piece of the social-networking phenomenon. Virtually every company with a significant Internet presence, from eBay to Dell, has reworked its products to make it easier for their users to communicate and share,” the Mercury News article stated.

However, even though portals like Yahoo, Google and Microsoft may be widely used, they may feel a threat from social network initiatives. The popularity of MySpace and Facebook may help explain Yahoo's and Google's changes to their e-mail services, which may aim to increase interactivity between users and help bring them closer to the social network craze, according to the Mercury News.

Facebook announced that its mobile users jumped from 5 million to 15 million users since the beginning of 2008, according to TG Daily. Even though the total number of the site's users amount to over 150 million, the growth of mobile users is thought to demonstrate the popularity of social networking across the platform.