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Windows Live Spaces lets users customise their website from more than 100 themes and add blogs, photo albums, music lists, or any kind of list and publish the whole thing not just to the Web, but also to mobile devices and email groups. It is designed to connect users to what Microsoft calls their real social network of friends - namely people in their Windows Live Contacts list - by integrating with Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail and other services - and to introduce them to people through these trusted contacts. Users that are already on one another's Windows Live Messenger contact lists can initiate instant messaging conversations from within Windows Live Spaces.

Enhanced privacy tools give users full control over permission settings to specify who can contact them through the service, see their profile information and view the contents of their site. The respective permissions and communications

Users can also choose from hundreds of gadgets - specialised mini-applications that will be familiar to Mac and Yahoo! users used to widgets - to add extra functionality to their pages.

Those wishing to cash in can use affiliate programs such as Amazon.com (though we suspect that Google Adwords may not be welcome) while paying subscribers of Hotmail Plus or MSN Premium can opt to have the Microsoft-supplied adverts removed from their Live Space.

'With the release of products such as Windows Live Spaces, we continue to deliver on our mission of bringing customers closer to the information and people that matter to them most,' said Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. 'Windows Live and Internet-based ad-funded software and service are critical to driving growth for the company, and we are energised about the continued investments we're making to help provide consumers with a seamless and safer online experience.'

Windows Live Spaces is live at spaces.live.com.