MySpace launches online photo service

by Arif Durrani, Media Week 08-Oct-08, 15:40

LONDON - MySpace, the social networking website owned by News Corp, has partnered with technology and printing specialist HP in a move that will offer users the ability to print any photos stored in their profiles.

The new partnership will see links to HP printing technology being rolled out across a number of areas on MySpace where photos appear, including in blogs, comments and messages.

The first stage of the partnership will include an HP-branded print button enabling MySpace users to preview and print photos directly from their MySpace profiles. At a later date, the companies also expect to provide the ability to create and print personalised merchandise with photos from the site.

Chris DeWolfe, chief executive of MySpace, said: "The MySpace platform is home to approximately four billion images and our users, from teens to grandparents will not have an easier way to share their digital assets."

The move is being touted as an "unprecedented partnership", despite coming 10 days after Facebook announced its own online photo printing service, Super Photos, through a deal with Photobox.

Both launches confirm the belief that the sharing and storing of photos online is set to become more integral to the social networking experience in the future.