Global - IBM is incorporating the concept of popular social networks like MySpace and Facebook into their web portal to boost interaction among employees.

As demand for outsourcing and telecommuting continues to rise, employees are finding it hard to interact with each other face-to-face, the Associated Press reported recently. This could result in the lack of creativity which in turn leads to a slow production.

IBM is currently working on an online portal named Beehive to connect its 386,000 employees worldwide, most of whom have never met even in the virtual world. The online portal will allow employees to describe their expertise and also post pictures, video and one-sentence updates about themselves.

Working at a distance from one another often leads to the lack of a personal touch in communication, says Joan Morris DiMicco, an IBM researcher developing Beehive. Co-workers in different places can't wander into each other's offices and see family pictures on the desk. 

Soon online business meetings will be able to incorporate images from Web cameras that capture gestures and face movements, so the avatar can imitate your non-verbal communication movements, such as crossing legs or frowning, when you do so in real life.

"Those kind of things makes you forget there's an interface mediating your interchange with other people," said Greg Nuyens, CEO of virtual-world creator Qwah Inc. "You'll just be in a room with them.