SEATTLE TIMES -- Aug 1 -- MSN is planning to boost Spaces'popularity by launching social-networking features this fall. The
service could compete with more established services, such as MySpace, Friendster and Orkut.

"You end up with a series of cascading relationships that get further
away from you, at least from your closed circle of friends, but they're
very important for you," said Blake Irving, a vice president in the MSN
division. Spaces is free, but users must deal with banner
advertising at the top of the blogs. Similarly, Microsoft said that it
will place some advertising on its Virtual Earth site. FULL ARTICLE @ SEATTLE TIMES