Google, seeking to take on Facebook which recently received a cash infusion from Microsoft, announced it is to offer Internet developers an open system to create applications across Web sites. "It is going to forestall Facebook’s ability to get everyone writing just for Facebook," said a person with knowledge of the plans quoted by New York Times.

Google said that its platform will reach more than 100 million users globally, exceeding Facebook's user base. Its early partners include Google’s social network, Orkut, as well as others, including LinkedIn, hi5, Friendster, Plaxo and Ning. Google also said that they would like Facebook to also be part of its project, but the social network leader did not comment yet.

"There is no question Google will benefit from this," Joe Kraus, a Google product manager, said in a Tuesday interview. "Google's role is highly intertwined with the Web, so anything that makes the Web a better experience tends to help Google."

Google already has been irritated by Facebook for recently hiring away some of its top engineers and selling a minority share to rival Microsoft. What its open social network platform will practically mean is that participating software developers will only have to code their applications once, leaving it to Google to ensure they are compatible with all the Web sites in its network.

For its OpenSocial project, the search engine king has brought in business software makers Salesforce.com and Oracle.

Microsoft won a bidding war with Google and acquired a minority stake of just 1.6 percent of Facebook for a stunning $240 million, which values the 3-year-old company at a lofty $15 billion. The social network, which has about 300 employees, no real estimated profit and a revenue of around $150 million, is thus valued at double the market capitalization of, let's say, Advanced Micro Devices.