Google to make social-networking Gmail features

Google will add a module to the Gmail screen that will display the status updates of people selected by a user, similar to some features of Facebook and Twitter, the newspaper reported on its Web site Monday.

Google could make an announcement as early as this week, according to the report.

Victoria Katsarou, a Google spokeswoman, declined to comment on the report.

Google is moving into social networking as users flock to Facebook to seek out old friends online, socialize with colleagues and share music and videos.

The top social-networking site announced this month that it has 400 million users worldwide, double the number a year ago. It recently updated its site to make it easier to check messages, notifications and friend requests.

Google, the world's most popular search engine, will hold an event at its Mountain View, California, headquarters Tuesday. The company said it would discuss “innovations in two of our most popular products,” without naming them.

Its shares rose US$2.18 to US$533.47 Monday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have fallen 14 percent this year.

Four engineers that helped create Gmail became Facebook employees when the social-networking site operator in August bought FriendFeed, a company they formed after leaving Google.

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