Google sees room for many social sites

Google Inc is leaving open the door to more co-operation with social-media giants Facebook and Twitter, and believes there is room for multiple social networks as it rolls out its own, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said.

Google Inc is leaving open the door to more co-operation with social-media giants Facebook and Twitter, and believes there is room for multiple social networks as it rolls out its own, executive chairman Eric Schmidt said.

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He told reporters that the company will cooperate fully with US antitrust regulators but will not let the formal probe launched last month distract or disrupt its strategy.

Schmidt, who vacated his CEO seat to co-founder Larry Page in April and now oversees government affairs, said it was too early to say how its new social network, Google Plus, was faring — but one key indication of success is the number of people clamouring to be part of the limited group currently using Plus, which launched in trial mode last week. One of the more popular features on Plus, especially with younger users, was online video chat, he said.

Singling out two services where Google Plus can now be viewed as a competitor, Schmidt said he would “love to have deeper integration with Twitter and Facebook.”