MySpace has rolled out a new MySpace Toolbar that allows users to receive notifications and alerts in real time.

Once the toolbar is installed MySpace users will be able to see New Friends Request, Messages, Comments, and Friend Updates in their browser.

The MySpace Toolbar will run inside the browser at launch on a PC running Internet Explore 6.0 or higher or Firefox 2.0 or higher. MySpace will introduce a version for Mac users in the near future.

Toolbar features include:
Auto Login - Automatically link to MySpace without entering your email and password

Always On - No need to refresh the browser for updates

Alerts - New Messages, New Comments, New Friend Requests etc.

Friend Activity Updates

Update My Mood and Status

See Friends’ Mood and Status

MySpace Search Powered by Google - Search the Web, People, and MySpace

“We believe strongly in our core technical foundation at MySpace and we’re building internal products based on the same technology that we’re developing in concert with the community,” said Amit Kapur, COO of MySpace.

The MySpace Toolbar is now available to all users in the United Sates, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, and Ireland.

Online holiday shoppers are increasingly using reviews to help with their purchasing decisions, according to a new report from hosted social commerce applications firm Bazaarvoice.

Bazaarvoice said it served more than 1.2 billion user-generated product reviews over the course of Thanksgiving Week as consumers researched their holiday purchases. Review usage peaked at 9:45 pm EST on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, an indication that reviews again played a key role in purchasing decisions.

Review usage spiked again on Cyber Monday, December 1, when Bazaarvoice served more than 165 million reviews to shoppers around the globe. Total review impressions were up 132 percent from the 71 million reviews served on Cyber Monday last year and up 768 percent from the 19 million served on cyber Monday 2006. At the peak on Cyber Monday, Bazaarvoice was serving over 4,500 impressions per second, another record for the company.

“Research released by Forrester in October showed that the number of US adults who read product reviews has nearly doubled in the past year,” said Brett Hurt, founder and CEO of Bazaarvoice.

“People have learned how to shop by reviews - and in a season where people are carefully considering each purchase, reviews are at the forefront of the online and offline shopping experience.”

“On Cyber Monday last year, we served 71 million review impressions,” said Sam Decker, CMO of Bazaarvoice. “This year, we served more than 165 million reviews, which means that online shoppers are benefiting from a 132% increase in readership of reviews.”

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of consumers are planning to research products online prior to purchasing (e-tailing group, October 2008). For every $1 spent in online sales, the Internet influences $3.45 of store sales according to eMarketer.