Microsoft announces social networking features for Xbox Live dashboard update

November 27, 2007 – Microsoft has announced that it will be adding new social networking features to the forthcoming update for the Xbox Live dashboard.

The dashboard will be updated on December 4, and will gain features such as “Friends of Friends”, allowing users to view the friends list of their friends on the network.  Several levels of visibility will be inserted, depending on the level desired and the age of the user.  Those 13 and up will be allowed to show their friends who else is on their list, while adults will be able to make their friends list public; the friends list of users under 13 will remain blocked.

“With the prevalence of social media sites such as MySpace and Facebook, this type of capability has largely come to be expected from consumers as a means to relate in an online community,” said Microsoft in a press release.  “Xbox Live continually seeks new ways to better serve the expectations of its members, which often results in enhancements made available for free through the bi-annual dashboard update.”

Microsoft also says that the new feature can be used as a tool to “find old friends or connect with new ones within the community of more than eight million people.”