Yahoo Backs Google Development Tool

Yahoo will support Google's OpenSocial software, which allows developers to put their programs on more social-networking sites.

Yahoo, Google and News Corp.'s MySpace said yesterday that they were forming the nonprofit OpenSocial Foundation to promote the technology. OpenSocial, introduced in October, may save developers time and money by letting them create a single application that works on multiple sites.

Teaming with Yahoo gives the alliance the backing of the most-visited U.S. Web site. Google and MySpace, the most popular social-networking site, have sought more programs to appeal to users as they compete for advertising revenue.

Internet users have flocked to social-networking sites where they can keep up with their friends, show pictures, share music and play games. The number of visitors to Facebook rose fourfold, to 100.7 million, in January from a year earlier. The number of MySpace visitors rose 15 percent, to 109.3 million, according to Reston-based researcher ComScore.

The increased popularity is luring advertisers eager to target Web users based on their ages, locations and hobbies. The alliance may help Yahoo make headway in the social-networking market, where Facebook and MySpace have won an increasing share of graphical banner ads. Spending on social-networking sites more than doubled last year, while sales growth at Yahoo slowed to 8 percent from 22 percent in 2006.

Google recruited networking sites LinkedIn, Friendster and Ning as early OpenSocial supporters, as well as business software makers Oracle and Salesforce.com.