Google+: Facebook for people who don't like Facebook

Wondering why the usually pristine-white Google homepage is now sporting a black bar across the top? It's all part of the search giant's new social networking initiative, Google+, which aims to keep us using Google products by prising our eyes away from the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Google+ is invite-only at the moment so you can't try it out for yourself, but the company has released a number of videos explaining what's on offer. The service has everything you'd expect from a social networking site, like the ability to chat or share photos, and the interface is actually very Facebook-like.