To help people manage their online activities more effectively, Windows Live has signed partnerships with leading social networks, blogging platforms, and sites devoted to music, video, reviews and the sharing of photos. Microsoft announced the first of these collaborations last fall with the rollout of the next generation of Windows Live. Today, the company is expanding its community of online partners, providing consumers with a simpler and more secure means of aggregating activities and sharing contacts between sites.

PressPass spoke with Brian Hall, general manager of the Windows Live Business Group, to learn more about the announcement and how customers will benefit.

PressPass: What are you announcing today?

Hall: We’re releasing an important update to Windows Live that’s really about two things. First is that we’ve added 20 new third-party content partners that you can integrate with Windows Live, bringing the total number of third-party content partners to more than 30. According to the latest data from comScore, there are more than 600 million active users on the various blogging sites, social networks and photo sharing sites that Windows Live has partnered with, and many of these people also make up the 500 million users on Windows Live. This update will make it easier for Windows Live customers to connect with their activities on these other sites and share them with friends in their Windows Live network.

Second, we’re working with three new contacts partners — MySpace, hi5 and Tagged —.........Continue At Source

Send via e-mail | Submit to Digg | Add to Live Favorites