Microsoft Launches Windows Live Spaces

Microsoft has begun rolling out Windows Live Spaces, the next generation of the blogging service, MSN Spaces. The new service includes social networking features and allows customers to personalize their Windows Live Spaces with gadgets. Microsoft also announced additional progress on Windows Live with the launch of Windows Live Toolbar, the Windows Live QnA beta and the releases of enhanced safety services in the coming weeks.

As the next generation of MSN Spaces, Windows Live Spaces will allow consumers to tell their story and customize their site with blogs, photo albums, music lists and more. Windows Live Spaces is designed to connect users to their real social network of friends – people in their Windows Live Contacts list – that is integrated across Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail and other services – and introduce them to people through these trusted contacts. Users that are already on one another’s Windows Live Messenger contact lists can initiate instant messaging conversations from within Windows Live Spaces. Expanded social networking opportunities through Windows Live Spaces are balanced by privacy tools that give users full control over permission settings to specify who can contact them through the service, see their profile information and view the contents of their site. The respective permissions and communications preferences are clearly displayed alongside the user’s profile information and can be updated at any time. For those under age 18, the default setting in their Windows Live Spaces profile is that only people in the user’s Windows Live Messenger contact list can gain access to his or her space.

In addition, consumers will be able to choose from hundreds of gadgets - specialized mini-applications created by developers from the community and content partners - to easily personalize their Windows Live Spaces. Customers can create a Windows Live Space here and find gadgets here.

As the launch season continues, additional Windows Live services continue to be rolled out, and by the end of the summer Microsoft expects to ship almost half of the 20 beta services the company has been testing. To help provide a safer and more secure online experience, Microsoft will launch a number of new safety services in the coming weeks, including Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner, a beta version of which was released in November 2005 as Windows Live Safety Center. Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner is a free, on-demand PC scanner that checks for and removes viruses and gets rid of unused files on the hard disk for improved PC performance.

Microsoft will also integrate enhanced safety features into Windows Live Toolbar, which was launched in a total of 38 markets this week. Windows Live Toolbar is designed to help consumers easily find, save and act on information and services across the Internet. It also includes access to the newly launched Windows Live OneCare Advisor, which provides quick and easy access to the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner and an updated version of Microsoft Phishing Filter that includes additional functionality to help protect consumers from online data theft.

Also coming soon to customers in the United States is the Windows Live QnA beta, a new vertical search experience designed to help people find the information they are looking for by allowing them to ask and answer questions from an online community on a given topic. Consumers will be able to tap into the power of the online community to search for answers on a variety of subject areas and topics including business, health, arts, sports, technology and more. Check out the beta here.