- Mike Shields, Mediaweek

MySpace is looking to make watching the tube a lot more social.

The News Corp.-owned social networking giant has announced plans to launch MySpace Widget for TV, an application which essentially will serve as a mini version of the popular site that consumers access from televisions. The MySpace Widget in being launched in conjunction with Toshiba, which is promoting a new line of TVs powered by Intel chips that are designed to connect to the Internet, a practice that to date has had little appeal to most Americans.

Toshiba, Intel and others are pushing Web-connected TVs this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. As part of the MySpace Widget for TV announcement, Intel and Yahoo have unveiled plans for a Widget Channel that would feature a host of mini Internet applications geared for couch potatoes.

As for MySpace’s widget, the company said that much like the Web site, users will be able to message back and forth with friends, send and receive status updates to their various social circles, view profiles and photos. Executives at News Corp. predicted that the widget would be particularly appealing to viewers of live events, such as facilitating trash-talking among sports fans or helping fans campaign for the favorite contestants on American Idol.

"We're giving our users an entirely new way to easily enjoy, share and access MySpace content through the new MySpace experience for TV,” said Jason Oberfest, MySpace’s vp of business development and general manager of MySpaceID. “We believe in our open platform that delivers interactive, social applications and [that] empower[s] our users to access their MySpace network, while also enjoying TV, [and] we continue to provide new and unique ways keep them engaged and connected.”