Nov 15, 2010 10:36 GMT  ·  By

Meebo has been doing quite a few interesting things to expand its user base and is now having another go at it with 'website check-ins.' Meebo plans to roll out a new browser extension, dubbed a MiniBar, which will enable users to check into any website they visit for their friends to see.

The Meebo MiniBar should be available in alpha tomorrow. It will be available for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Support for Apple Safari will be added soon.

MiniBar will enable users to chat with their friends from various websites or instant messaging services, like they can with the regular Meebo bar or on the homepage.

But it will also enable them to check it into any website. If they want to advertise the fact that they're visiting a site to their friends, or found a particularly interesting one, they can hit the 'Check-in' button.

This will also allow them to see which of their friends have also checked into the website. By default, the check-in is for the site's homepage rather than a particular page they're visiting, though this can be included as well.

Users can also share their 'check-in' on Twitter and Facebook, though this won't be enabled by default. Meebo is trying to differentiate itself by positioning check-ins as an alternative to sharing.

The company says people may be more wary of sharing a piece of content fearing that someone else has already done it. While that's probably not really a widespread phenomenon, it's an interesting approach from Meebo. It says that check-ins are less involved and so should come easier to users.

One way Meebo is encouraging users to check in is by offering rewards for frequent visitors. They can become VIPs on websites which can lead to a number of rewards, such as discounts, depending on what those websites want to offer. Check-in functionality will eventually be added to the Meebo bar for websites as well.