With all eyes on Facebook and its giant initial public offering, Microsoft minded its own business and quietly made the official launch for its own "experimental" social networking site. Called So.cl - pronounced "social" - Microsoft's site takes a little bit of everything and combines aspects of social networking, search, and media sharing, in a user interface similar to Google+.

When news of a Microsoft social networking site first surfaced, the attempt was being billed as an "experimental research project," available only to students pursuing information and design degrees at the University of Washington, Syracuse University, and New York University. The project is still billed as experimental, but now it is open to everyone.

"We expect students to continue using products such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other existing social networks, as well as Bing, Google and other search tools," reads a FAQ on Microsoft's So.cl page. "We hope to encourage students to reimagine how our everyday communication and learning tools can be improved, by researching, learning and sharing in their everyday lives."

Users can sign up to So.cl using their Facebook or Windows Live ID. "So.cl is an experiment in open search. That means your searches on So.cl are viewable by other So.cl users and will also be available to third parties," explains the site when accessed for the first time. "So.cl does not automatically post your searches, comments, or likes to your Facebook stream unless you choose this option. Also, we don't contact your Facebook friends unless you invite them."

The layout Microsoft used for its So.cl experimental site looks very similar to Google+'s layout, but it also incorporates facets from Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Users can follow other So.cl users, or follow interests such as movies, food, art, or anything else. A "bookmarklet" feature adds a "share on So.cl" button to a user's bookmark bar, making is easy to share content found anywhere on the Web with other So.cl users. So.cl also seems to be closely tied with the recently revamped Bing social search. Meanwhile, the "Everyone" feed allows users to easily see what other So.cl users are searching for and sharing on the site.

"As students work together, they often look for the same content, and discover new shared interests by sharing results. These results can be web pages, images, or videos found through Bing," explains Microsoft. "We see this trend today on many social networks, such as Twitter, where shared links spread virally and amplify popular content. So.cl experiments with this concept by letting you easily share links as you search."