[Shaun]

Last.fm users can now sign in from Facebook to share tracks and there will also be a 'friend finder' tool.

The British-based online music service says it wants to become more mainstream and social.

Last.fm, which attracts 30 million users worldwide each month, has been facing tough competition since its launch in 2002.

Critics say it had become too niche and a £3 monthly subscription was having to compete with free offerings.

Vice President of Product at Last.fm, Matthew Hawn said: "I know we have a lot of work to do, but we want to become the connective tissue between services like Spotify and iTunes and the place where people publish their music taste online."

The music service was originally designed by three men in Hoxton, east London.

Matthew Hawn said: "At the time it was created for who they were and the types of people they mixed with.

"We now need to focus on making the service more mainstream and plugged into people's other music experiences and social networks."

Hawn also said he would like to see their Scrobbling service "become more mainstream".

Scrobbling allows users to track what they listen to on Last.fm and in other players such as iTunes.

When a song is Scrobbled it forms part of a user's personal listening charts so new music can be recommended.

"If Foursquare is where you publish your location, and Facebook is where you socially connect, Last.fm should be where you publish your taste in music," Hawn added.

intriguing.