News.blog: Last.fm thinks big 'In a Box'

Last.fm, the music-focused social site that CBS Interactive acquired last year, announced on Wednesday the launch of a project called 'Last.fm In A Box', which distributes the site's ad-supported streaming radio services to partner companies.

Launch partners include a variety of social networks, personalised home page services and music sites, like the AOL-owned Bebo, Billboard.com, Break Media, subscription service eMusic, Frengo, Gigya, iGoogle, concert promoter Live Nation, Meebo, MP3.com (owned by CNET.co.uk's parent company CNET Networks), Netvibes, Ning, Pageflakes, the News Corp-owned Photobucket, Piczo, blogging platforms Six Apart and WordPress, teen site Stardoll, Wayn.com, as well as CBS properties CBS Television Stations and CBS Affiliates.

Last.fm audio content is already distributed on CBS Radio's online stations. The music service announced earlier this year that it had deals with all the major music labels to offer ad-supported streaming music to its members.

The 'In A Box' project follows a distributed model slightly similar to the one that CBS Interactive has adopted for online video with the CBS Audience Network, which makes the company's television and other video content available on partner sites like AOL, Veoh and now Yahoo TV.

Last.fm is owned by CBS, which is set to acquire CNET.co.uk parent company CNET Networks in an acquisition expected to close in the third quarter of this year.