Yahoo has just released Mash, a new social networking solution able to compete with the two Internet giants MySpace and Facebook. At this time, the service is still in beta, allowing you to create an account only by invitation. "Mash is currently an invitation-only beta service. The odds are good that one of your friends is in here already. Hit them up for an invite!" the official page of the product states.

In a blog post published a few days ago, Will Aldrich from the Yahoo Mash team announced the private beta stage of the product, saying that it is quite different from the other web social networks. It seems like Mash will allow the registered users to create new profiles for their friends in order to attract a larger audience for the service.

As far as I can see, Mash is actually a Yahoo 360 with several improvements. But what's more interesting is a TechCrunch article which sustains the Sunnyvale company might be tempted to close Yahoo 360 in order to migrate all the users to Mash and remain focused on only one product. "Mash appears to be Yahoo!'s way of saying adieu to its existing social network, Yahoo! 360, but no word yet on whether the company will actually be shutting down 360," the TechCrunch article reads.

However, don't hurry up to replace your Yahoo 360 account with a Mash one because even the company's official admits the product is still in early beta stages so the users might encounter several difficulties when using it. "One last note before you jump in: Mash is still pretty raw - there are bugs and we haven't gotten to several of the features it really should have. We need to hear from you about where to focus our efforts," he added in the blog post.