IBM's 'business-grade' social networking

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ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. computer giant IBM Corp. Monday unveiled social-networking software like MySpace, YouTube, and Flickr, but for corporate use.

IBM's Lotus Connections, which IBM dubbed "business-grade social computing," lets business people post personal profiles about their expertise and interests and Web logs for ongoing commentaries. It also lets them connect with like-minded communities for online work collaboration, manage group products online and share documents and Web sites through bookmarks.

"Social software tools will become so much a part of the fabric of an enterprise's collaborative environment that it will be like air -- enterprises won't be able to imagine life without it," IBM said in a statement.

IBM did not provide pricing information or forecast sales. It said shipments would start by June.

Microsoft Corp.'s Windows SharePoint Services, a 5-year-old product with 85 million users, added social-networking features in its latest version, unveiled in November.