The FINANCIAL -- The search giant Google is updating its popular e-mail service Gmail adding social-media tools similar to those found on Facebook and Twitter.

Later this week, Google will introduce add-ons to Gmail that let users post and view messages about their day-to-day activities, according to a person at Google briefed on its plans, The New York Times reports. This simple tweak to Gmail will allow Google to mimic the status updates that have driven much of the success of Facebook and Twitter, as people return to the services again and again to check out what their friends and co-workers are doing.

To date, Google has allowed users to post only a brief message about their status through its Chat system, which is linked to Gmail. The new features would allow a more vibrant back-and-forth among Gmail users, according to the same source. It is not clear whether Google will link the new Gmail features to rival social-networking services.

Google spokesperson remained unavailable for comments on the matter, The Money Times reports. However, the company did sent invites to the media people on Monday “to see innovations in two of our most popular products” at an event that will be held on Tuesday at Google’s Mountain View, California, headquarters.

Google  is still far and away the No. 1 most-visited website, with 173 million U.S. visitors in December, according to measurement service ComScore Media Metrix, up 16% from the previous December. But Facebook is close behind, USA Today informs. Facebook was the fourth-most-visited site in December, with 111.8 million visitors, up 105% from the prior year.

"If Google can get you to do more things in Gmail, they can sell more ads, because you've spent more time there," says Danny Sullivan, editor of the Search Engine Landblog.

Facebook's walled-off form of social computing is seen as one of the few forces that threatens Google's online advertising empire, according to Information Week. In response to that threat, Google has spent the past few years adding social features to encourage social interaction among users of its services.  In October, 2009, Google introduced a Social Search experiement, a way to see what online friends have posted when the content is relevant to a given search. Last month, Google promoted its Social Search experiment from Google Labs to a beta product.

Last July, Google added social features to its Reader service, part of its push to encourage more users to create Google Profiles, the same source reports. The company has also been promoting social interaction on its iGoogle customizable home page through the introduction of social gadgets.

Analysts remain skeptical as to whether a new twist on Gmail will do much to elevate Google’s position in the social networking realm, The New York Times wrote. That said, the market remains relatively new, and there is room for companies to challenge the likes of Facebook, they said.

According to the same source, Google is also expected to create strong ties between Gmail and its YouTube video site and Picasa photo gallery service.

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