"Those are huge milestones that we're very excited about," he said. "It's not just a new name or a new coat of paint. It's new code and new functionality."

MySpace, Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other major Internet players have in recent months all launched data portability programs aimed at letting their end users use their accounts in other Web sites.

For example, someone could use an existing account on these sites to register and sign in to other Web sites. That way, people don't have to create an account for every Web site that requires one, reducing the number of log-in details they need to remember.

These data portability programs also aim to let people port to other Web sites content they have loaded onto their existing accounts, like profile information, photos, notes, list of contacts, comments, status updates and the like.

"It's all built on the idea of providing our users with a way to make their personal identity more portable around the social Web and doing it in a way that emphasizes privacy for the user. It's about making a user-centric identity platform," said Engel.