Microsoft has launched a beta invitation only version of its competitor to the incredibly popular YouTube personal video clips service. Called Soapbox, the introduction home page video is a typical Microsoft attempt to be fashionable.

You need to be in the US to join the first set of beta testing but Microsoft is trying to generate a gentle word of mouth roll out by allowing those testers to invite a limited number of friends to the service. Google did this succesfully with their GMail service.

Microsoft may well grow Soapbox to surpass YouTube in time, as it has done with many other technologies and concepts invented or introduced to market by others.