MySpace will allow users to share data with other sites

London, May 9 : MySpace, the world's most popular social networking site, has announced that it plans to give users the option of sharing their profiles and other personal information with other Web sites.

MySpace executives said that Yahoo, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter have joined the site's "data-availability initiative," which will be open to any Web site, including rival Facebook.

They added that the site plans to begin offering the service to users in "several weeks."

"The walls around the garden are coming down," said MySpace boss Chris DeWolfe.

The deal signifies that anyone with a MySpace profile can now share content with any web site including things like photos, video, public profile information, friends' lists and text.

MySpace claims their initiative "throws open the doors to traditionally closed networks by putting users in the driver's seat of their data and web identity".

"This is an unprecedented move to further socialise the web and empower users to control their online content and data," BBC quoted chief operating officer Amit Kapur, as saying.

All in all the participating companies claim a total of 150 million users and reach 85 per cent of the internet market in the United States.

The move also offers MySpace the opportunity to extend its reach outside its core members.

Under "data availability" MySpace profiles are synched with partnering sites like Yahoo and Twitter. Users who make a change to their MySpace page will find that the accounts linked in will also be altered. The data is dynamic, which means it can be updated constantly.

MySpace stresses that users will have control over what information they share and who they share it with.

"Finding friends to follow is central to Twitter's value as a real-time communication utility. This project enhances discovery and connectivity making Twitter more relevant and useful," said co-founder Biz Stone.

MySpace has announced that it is also joining the Data Portability Project to display its constant commitment to openness and open standards.

Yahoo's executive vice president of platforms, Ash Patel, said: "Yahoo believes in an open internet that gives users the flexibility to make their web experiences as relevant, social and personalised as they can."

ANI