End-users will benefit from the convenience of being able to sign in to multiple Web sites with the log-in information of their favorite account. Web site publishers, such as those that already have signed on to Facebook Connect, will gain viral exposure to the massive audiences of the big social networks.

For Facebook, Google and MySpace, the benefits are more intangible at this point, centered more on extending their brands and reach beyond the frontiers of their own Web sites, Sterling said.