Bebo Adopts Windows Live Messenger

Social network Bebo has announced that it will team up with Microsoft to use Windows Live instant messaging on its site.  Bebo is especially popular in the UK, and the new service will let its users – which number around 36 million globally – to both import and export contacts between their Bebo pageand their Windows Live list.   Additionally, there are plans to introduce a feature whereby users would be able to message each other directly from their page, simply by adding an “IMMe” icon.   Bebo has discovered that about 90% of its users also use Windows Live Messenger, so the partnership seems obvious.   “Our core strength is not building applications.We’re more of an open platform and much more likely to partner than build it ourselves,” said Joanna Shields, president of Bebo’s international business.   Microsoft has around 300 millionWindows Live users, but this is the first time the company has partnered on a communications service with a social networking site.