MSN has announced the beta release of Soapbox, a user-uploaded video service, in USA.
Soapbox allows users to upload, discover, and share personal videos with the Soapbox community and others around the world. It will be available on MSN Video, and will be deeply integrated throughout Microsoft's portfolio of online services, including Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.
Commenting on the new service, Rob Bennett, general manager - entertainment and video services, MSN, said, "Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience. By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video."
Soapbox incorporates powerful Web 2.0 technologies, providing a dynamic, fun, and entertaining experience. It provides users with a number of benefits such as single-step uploading, background server-side video processing, and acceptance of all major digital video formats; video browsing spanning 15 categories, plus RSS feeds; and participation in the Soapbox community, with the ability to rate, comment on, or tag videos viewed, etc.
The Soapbox beta on MSN Video is available on an invitation-only basis in the US, and those interested in participating in it can sign-up for the waiting list at http://soapbox.msn.com. The beta is accessible to users of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later running on Windows XP, and to users of Firefox 1.0.5 or later running on Windows XP or Macintosh OS X.
