Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have been popular by their very nature of their social aspect. Today, Apple hopes to add a little bit of socializing into iTunes by announcing version 10 with Ping.

Earlier today, Steve Jobs said good bye to the old version of iTunes by stating that it was the “number one online media store in the world” and with download stats that boast 11.7 billion song titles, 450 million television shows and 100 million movie downloads, it’s hard to argue with the numbers.

iTunes 10, which is Apple’s latest version of their “digital music jukebox”, comes with an “elegant and simple” design. It’s biggest change however is the introduction of social networking, which Steve Jobs describes as “Facebook and Twitter meets iTunes”.

iTunes 10 now gets Ping and this feature will be available on your personal computer and will also be incorporated into the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Through this new feature, you will be able to follow friends as well as your favorite recording artists to get a glimpse into their musical tastes. You will also get access to concert information and a custom chart that will be designed to your musical preferences.

If you’re worried about your online privacy, Apple’s new service will have a number of opt-in/opt-out options that will help you to customize your privacy settings. Apple has come to the table a little late with social network integration, but they do have a jump start in that they do have a user base of 160 million iTune users already that are spread across 23 different countries. It’s unlikely that the new service will have any impact on Facebook or Twitter which both boast strong communities of their own, but it is possible that MySpace may take a hit as they have developed themselves as a website for bands and their listeners.

Via: Pocket Lint