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New updates coming for BlackBerry Messenger

Share on Messenger: New updates to Facebook and Twitter for BlackBerry allow users to share tweets and status updates with BBM contacts.

Changes are coming for the thousands of BlackBerry users in Bermuda who are addicted to their BBM.Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry, has just announced the Facebook and Twitter apps for their phones will soon be updated to include BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) connectivity.The added functionality will allow users of the encrypted IM system to automatically share their Facebook status or tweets with their BBM friends right from inside the apps. Once the Facebook and Twitter updates are downloaded, users will see a new “Share with BBM” button appear.The new social networking integration is a part of RIM’s efforts to merge many of the world’s most popular apps into its own BlackBerry Messenger service. It’s also part of a push to drum up support for its messaging service and get developers to create more apps for it.”Since we provided developers the means to build BBM connectivity into their apps, we have seen more than 800 new BBM-connected apps come to market, which has been followed by a huge uptake by users,” said Alec Saunders, vice-president of Developer Relations at RIM. “About one in five apps being downloaded on BlackBerry App World is a BBM-connected app.”The company is set to roll out a slew of the new updates over the next ten days with new versions of BlackBerry Travel, BlackBerry App World (the company’s online app store) and BBM Music (an iTunes-like music sharing app) all connecting to BBM.While in BlackBerry Travel, users will be able to share upcoming flights and other travel arrangements via IM. BBM Music will pull in recommended contacts directly into the app, broadening the range of songs from others you can listen to and comment on. And BlackBerry App World will allow users to share their latest download via BBM. It will also support NFC for phones with the BlackBerry Tag technology to make sharing an app between devices quick and easy.RIM currently has more than 55 million active users worldwide on BlackBerry Messenger.