(28 March 2008 1:30 pm)

MUMBAI: Microsoft has collaborated with five popular social networks - Facebook, Bebo, Hi5, LinkedIn and Tagged - making it easier, safer and more secure for people to have access to their contacts and relationships from more places on the web.

This collaboration includes an exchange of application programming interfaces (API) that will create a two-way street allowing people to move their contacts and relationships between Windows Live services and social networks more safely and securely.

As part of this effort, Microsoft is introducing a new website, www.invite2messenger.net, where people can invite their contacts from any of these five social networks to join them on Windows Live Messenger without screen-scraping, or providing private user credentials to outside networks.

"We have created Windows Live Contacts API to help users access and share their data and contacts across the web in a safer and more secure manner. With this, we are providing an alternative to 'screen-scraping' that is equally open, but safer and more secure," said Microsoft India Windows Live Services product head Samir Saraiya.

" We have paid special attention to the context of relationships. Because a user has a friend on a social networking site does not mean that that relationship should be automatically imported to Windows Live Messenger. Invite2Messenger does not automatically store your contact data, it simply gives you the tools to establish relationships with your contacts on Windows Live Messenger with your contacts' permission," added Saraiya.

Windows Live Contacts API is already available at www.facebook.com and www.bebo.com. The service will be available on Hi5, Tagged and LinkedIn sites in the coming months.