Google+ revamp mirrors rival Facebook, Twitter features

London, Apr 12 (ANI): Search giant Google has announced a new design for its social networking site, with some of the features borrowed heavily from rival companies Twitter and Facebook.

Google plus now includes a list of 'trending topics' and 'cover pictures', as well as a more 'dynamic' navigation menu.

The new feature known as trending topics, which displays a list of the most commonly discussed subjects, mirrors microblogging site Twitter, which first introduced trending-topic lists on its site in 2010.

According to The BBC, the embattled Google+, which everyone signs up for but no one seems to use, has also borrowed Facebook's newly introduced cover-photo feature, a large image displayed behind a user's profile picture.

Meanwhile, Google said that over 170million people have 'upgraded' to the social network so far.

"It's still early days, and there's plenty left to do, but we're more excited than ever to build a seamless social experience, all across Google," Google's Vic Gundotra wrote in a blog post.

He said the new features included 'full bleed' media, showing pictures and video in full-size and quality, and 'conversation cards', which would make it easier to have threaded conversations, similar to the format found in Google's email service, Gmail. (ANI)