There’s no hiding the fact that Yahoo is experiencing setbacks at this moment. Just last week the company has begun layoffs due to low profitability. But with its new offering Yahoo hopes to make things turn for the better. To gain more users, the company is enhancing its email service, making it a social place where users can bond and interact in a much better way, at the same get more work done. Since Yahoo’s email service will be made as a more social tool, it is also welcoming third-party applications to make the experience even better. Third-party applications that Yahoo’s is testing out are Flickr, WordPress, and XoopIt. Right now a beta version is already up and running to a select number of users.

This initiative from yahoo is a pet project of Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang. Since he became CEO in 2007 he has encouraged Yahoo to be more open to third-party content and to draw on its social connections.