Microsoft ties up with LinkedIn

LinkedIn Connector will allow users to access LinkedIn features from Outlook

Microsoft has released a new tool which will embed the LinkedIn social networking service within Microsoft Outlook.

LinkedIn Connector will allow users to access LinkedIn features while viewing and managing emails. The service will be offered as part of the free Outlook Social Connector component for Office 2003, 2007 and the Office 2010 beta.

Users will be able to view information from connections within emails, and add LinkedIn contacts from Outlook and email connections through an auto-complete feature.

Microsoft is hoping that the partnership will boost Outlook's reach in the social networking sector, while LinkedIn is looking to better connect with enterprise users.

"At LinkedIn, we believe every professional is more productive when their professional network is close at hand and available wherever they spend their professional time," said LinkedIn product management director Eliot Shmukler.

"We hope that this functionality starts bringing some of the benefits of LinkedIn to where you spend a majority of your professional time: your Microsoft Outlook inbox."