Introducing the new version of orkut: fun new features, faster browsing, the same great friends

Today is a very special day for the orkut team (and hopefully for you as well). After months of hard work, we are thrilled to announce the launch of a brand spanking new version of orkut. We've been listening carefully to all of the feedback that you've so diligently left us and have rebuilt the site from the bottom up using the Google Web Toolkit (GWT). Doing so has allowed us to create a faster, richer and more intuitive experience for you and continue to increase our pace of innovation. With the new version of orkut you'll find:

Fewer pages, faster browsing: We've concentrated orkut's principal actions onto your homepage, making it a one-stop-shop for nearly everything that you'd like to do. Now you can chat, watch videos, and browse and search within your full friends and communities lists without ever having to open a new page. See a photo, video, or status message in your activity stream that you'd like to comment on? Just start typing away. After all, fewer pages and a GWT interface mean less time waiting for things to load and more time doing what really matters– hanging out with your friends!

A clean, simple interface: We've reorganized the most important activites on orkut so that they are easy to find and even easier to use. Look out for larger pictures, easier to access notifications, targeted friend suggestions, and key updates closer to the top of your homepage. Now you can even use your friends' profile pages to keep up with their most recent activities and leave them scraps.

Greater personalization: Make your orkut profile and homepage truly your own by choosing the color that best fits your style. Have a personality that's too unique to be captured by words? We've also made it possible for you to customize your "about me" section, adding video, OpenSocial applications and much more to your array of options.

And much, much more: This is just a taste of all the new things you'll find on orkut. Learn more about all of the different features you'll find on the new interface by visiting this page on the orkut Help Center.

Excited about the new version of the site? Then you'll also be excited to know that we're returning to orkut's roots and granting access to it via invitations. Starting today, there are two ways to get invites:

Join Poppy and Shashi on the official community (www.orkut.co.in/neworkut) for insights into the new version of orkut and participate in one of the many activities that will be taking place there. Be sure to check back often as the owners will be regularly announcing new ways to get access.
Find a friend who's already using the new version of orkut and ask for an invite. You can see who's already gotten access via your activity stream or by this icon that will appear on your friends' profile pages, next to their names.

We'd like to think of this as the beginning of a new evolution for orkut, so please stay posted for even more improvements coming in the near future. If you'd like to leave us a comment just visit the orkut Help Forum.

Hope to see you on the new version of orkut soon!