Google is getting serious about integrating social computing capabilities into its services. Google's new CEO, Larry Page is making one thing clear, he'll be sharpening the company's focus on social networking. Page swiftly set the tone for how he would run the Internet search giant with a major reorganization of his management team.

Page is trying to restore the sense of urgency and innovation that drove Google's prior successes. The reorganization also puts him firmly in charge of the world's largest Internet company in much the same way Steve Jobs runs Apple Inc.

For months now, Internet rumors about Google's social networking strategy have circulated widely. will be. Some suggest that the company is building a Facebook-like tool, while others predict a gaming-focused social network or the addition of social features to Google services like search and maps.

This week's memo, if legitimate, seems to indicate that Page wants Google to dive head-first into social networking. And he wants every single employee working in that same direction.

And he has good motivation as Facebook increasingly becomes a major rival.

Facebook, with more than 500 million users, is the largest social networking site in the world. That alone is a threat to Google, which wants users to spend their time on Google sites.

So while Google is rushing to catch up with Facebook in the social arena, it will have to defend its carefully cultivated reputation as the home of the best and the brightest.