(21 April 2007 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Social networking site MySpace has begun testing a feature. This will allow its users access to news headlines and events.

The system is powered by Newroo, which is also owned by MySpace's parent News Corp.

Media reports state that MySpace News is a hybrid between standard news-aggregation sites, like Google News, and a news-rating site such as Digg. Like Google and other news sites, MySpace News brings in content from a variety of news outlets.

But the site also has Digg-like features that allow MySpace users rate stories they see on the site, and share stories with other site users.

On the site, news pages are divided into 25 main themes, such as sports and entertainment. Then they’re further organised into 300 subcategories both big and small, such as USC football. The aggregation process is based on a search algorithm, but users rate individual stories to determine their rank on a page.

Analysts reports further indicate are unsure if MySpace will face potential legal issues because of the web site. MySpace News will search, pull and display headlines from various web sites, which is something Google has had numerous legal challenges with in the way it operates Google News. MySpace has already stated that it is willing to exclude news articles if a publishing company contacts company representatives.