MySpace TV goes live

Quickly validating its preview, MySpace today kicked off the launch of MySpace TV. A separate but closely-linked part of the company's social networking site, the page brings many of the channels and sorting features of YouTube but promises far stronger social tools: in addition to tracking favorite video producers, MySpace subscribers can also tag clips to put them into a profile and personalize a video channel based on their tastes and past viewing history.

As mentioned yesterday, professionally-made content will also play a strong part, MySpace says. Several well-known content providers have already been tapped for content for the initial page, including Sony's Minisodes, news segments from the New York Times and Reuters, and sports from both the NBA and NHL.

Still considered a public beta, the service is live immediately for MySpace's localized pages in North America, most of Europe, and Pacific countries such as Australia and Japan. The company hasn't said when the beta will end but describes it as a "first phase" which will see substantial changes on the path to completion.