Google to offer social networking toolbox

The effort to make it easier for Web surfers to connect with their friends is attracting a crowd.

After similar moves by the two biggest online hangouts, Internet search leader Google Inc. is introducing tools that are supposed to make any website more sociable.

The service, expected to be available on a limited basis Monday evening, provides a framework that will enable people to interact with their friends and use favorite applications they have utilized on social networks such as Facebook and Plaxo even when they aren’t visiting those sites.

Google’s initiative, called Friend Connect, follows pledges by MySpace and Facebook Inc. last week to enable their users to transport their personal profiles and applications to other websites.

News Corp.’s MySpace and privately held Facebook -- the Internet’s two largest social hubs -- announced their plans for wider accessibility late last week.