AOL joins Google's OpenSocial

AOL joins Yahoo and MySpace in supporting Google's OpenSocial

AOL has become the latest company to throw its weight behind Google's OpenSocial programme.

The company will open up its myAOL service to the use of Google Gadgets to allow users to add the web-based applications to myAOL pages.

AOL joins web heavyweights such as Yahoo and MySpace in supporting Google's OpenSocial.

The platform was designed to create an open and standard set of web 2.0 services which can be mixed and matched by users.

AOL also hopes that the move will pique the interest of developers in creating new applications for myAOL.

"Gadgets will allow us to offer developers more opportunities to bring their ideas to myAOL, while keeping our users safer," said Eric Staats, principal software engineer at AOL.

"Additionally, Gadgets will make it easier for application developers to create new tools and widgets for myAOL that will also be available to AOL users across the web on any OpenSocial-enabled container."

AOL plans to roll out the Gadgets support on myAOL over the next few months, followed by eventual adoption of the Gadgets platform across all AOL services.