Twitter links up with Apple's Ping

Unveiling Apple's new music-focused social network Ping in September, chief executive Steve Jobs described it as "sort of like Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes." Facebook and Ping have yet to meet but Twitter and Ping got together on Thursday.

Twitter announced an integration with Ping that allows users who link their accounts to share previews of their favorite tunes with their followers on the micro-blogging service.

Jobs unveiled Ping in September as part of iTunes 10, the latest version of its online entertainment store.

Ping lets users view photos and videos of their favorite musicians, receive information about concert dates and connect with other users to discuss albums and songs and make musical recommendations.

An expected Ping integration with Facebook has never materialized, however, despite months of negotiations between the technology titans.

Twitter said its tie-up with Apple will put Ping activity, song previews and links to purchase music from the iTunes Store into the Twitter messages known as "tweets."

Linking Twitter and Ping accounts identifies fellow Ping users among a Twitter user's group of followers.

"Once you've linked the accounts, whenever you Post, Like, Review, or tell your friends why you purchased a song or album on Ping, this activity will also be tweeted to your Twitter followers," Twitter said in a blog post.

"When you click on a tweet that's sent via Ping or that contains an iTunes link, you'll see the song or album in Twitter's details pane, with the ability to listen to song previews from iTunes, making the experience even richer," it said.

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Twitter said the iTunes song previews would be available on Twitter in the 23 countries where the iTunes Store offers music.

According to Apple, more than one million people joined Ping in the 48 hours following its launch in early September.

Twitter, which allows users to fire off messages of 140 characters or less, has enjoyed skyrocketing popularity since it was launched in 2006 by Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone and now has over 160 million users.