Microsoft announces Facebook integration into Outlook

Everywhere you turn, it seems that Facebook is always right in front of you. Heck, it's even going to invade your Outlook inbox, as Microsoft is integrating it into its personal email management tool. You'll be able to access and view Facebook news feeds straight from your inbox. Add Windows Live Messenger into the mix, and Filipinos will have a whole new dimension of social networking.

What exactly can we expect from the Microsoft Outlook-Facebook integration?

* When an Outlook contact emails you, you'll also be able to view his profile picture, status updates, photo uploads, and wall posts, among others, granted that he is also on Facebook.
* How does real-time Facebook updates sound? Think of them as real-time stalking being able to see notifications without having to visit the social-networking site itself.

The integration will be made possible by the Outlook Social Connector plug-in that was introduced by Microsoft last year and initially only worked on LinkedIn. If you have the Jurassic Age Outlook versions (read: 2003 and 2007), though, fret not because the plug-in will still work in those.

However, the hookup is just a one-way street, so to speak. Outlook can only get information from Facebook and not the other way around, which means that while you can view FB updates, you cannot respond to them directly. Liking or commenting a status via Outlook, for example, is out of the question. Well, at least for now.