Rumour has it that an official announcement is imminent for Google's development of a social networking site to rival Facebook.

The Internet giant has had talks with online gaming companies including Playdom Inc and EA Games to include some of their games on the site.

Following the recent announcement of Facebook's 500 million user success, it's only natural that Kings of Search, Google Inc have decided to develop what could be the next social media phenomenon.

This may well work in their favour to once again dominate the web for all search queries. In recent years, social networking sites have become more intimate and trustworthy than search engines when making decisions, such as finding the best restaurants or choosing a city break.  Real reviews and recommendations via social networking sites have taken the lead - results almost seem as though they come from someone you know.

Users have now come to expect a more personal, descriptive answer to their online search query, as opposed to a simple list of sites, and there's a strong trend for preferred choice of options that come from within a users social circle. As Google would agree, social networking is certainly the way forward.