Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) set up its OpenSocial technology so that developers could build applications for a number of social networks without having to tailor their software for each of them -- one common standard for a large number of sites to accelerate programming.

Google has its own social network site Orkut, but it has not made much progress against larger rivals Facebook and News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) MySpace. But the search company's new effort is aimed at preventing developers from spending all of their efforts targeting the two largest networks. That program got a big lift yesterday when the largest website in the category, MySpace, adopted OpenSocial.

"OpenSocial is going to be the de facto standard for developers right out of the gates," said MySpace chief executive and cofounder Chris DeWolfe during a press conference, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Google may have lost out to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in its bid to own a piece of Facebook, but that may matter less now. As The New York Times points out: "OpenSocial is designed to allow third-party companies and developers to create one set of programs that works across the Web's most popular social networks. Facebook, in contrast, asks developers to tailor their programs for the network in its own proprietary format. The Google group is counting that developers will eschew that extra effort and want to avoid any lock-in with one social network."

Facebook has now been painted into a corner, and Microsoft's investment may not look quite so good just a week after it was announced.

Once again, Google has shown why it is so attractive to Wall Street. It will beat you if you don't join it.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.