Microsoft Launches SoapBox Beta

MSN has announced the U.S. beta release of Soapbox on MSN Video, a user-uploaded video service that allows people to upload and share personal videos with the Soapbox community and others around the world.

Soapbox will be available on MSN Video and will be integrated throughout Microsoft’s portfolio of online services, including Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.

Soapbox on MSN Video aims to provide a dynamic, fun and entertaining experience. Some of the benefits listed by the company are

Easy uploading and sharing of video creations. By providing single-step uploading, background server-side video processing and acceptance of all major digital video formats, Soapbox makes uploading videos a snap.

Finding and discovering the most entertaining videos. Viewers can search, browse through 15 categories, find related videos, subscribe to RSS feeds, and share their favorites with their friends — all without interrupting whatever video they are watching.

Participation in the Soapbox community. Soapbox users can rate, comment on and tag the videos they view, share links with their friends via e-mail, and include the embeddable Soapbox player directly on their Web site or blog.

The service is available on an invitation-only basis in the U.S. Those interested in participating in the beta can sign up for the waiting list now. Access to the beta will expand over time by enabling existing beta testers to invite a limited number of friends.

The beta of Soapbox on MSN Video is available to users of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later running on Windows XP and Firefox 1.0.5 or later running on Windows XP or Macintosh OS X.