Yahoo kickstarts a new "Facebook"... literally

Yahoo is launching a new Social Service aimed at College students, Alumni and recruiters.

The new service, called Kickstart, comes a few weeks after its 360 blogging/social networking effort was dumped.

Although it draws immediate comparisons with Facebook,  the social network website that Yahoo failed to acquired last year for USD 1 bn, Kickstart aims at helping students build their professional networks rather than just seeking fun.

The site could be particularly effective at recruiting work placement students and could fill a niche between Facebook and Linked In.

The site is currently in beta version and is already opened to Yahoo users worldwide; features present include discussion forums, bulletins and event pages.

One good thing is that it does offer an extensive database of colleges, universities and other institutions outside America with Indian, French and UK candidates.