Tomorrow, on Thursday, Google look like trying to break this monopoly - no doubt so that they can attempt to prevent Facebook and Microsoft from grabbing a large share of web user space and ad revenues.

But the way Google are choosing to use to try to break this emerging monopoly is a good sign of better things to come. Google are creating an open standard for builders of applications for social networking sites. This would allow anyone to create applications that work with any of these sites, rather than tying software developers to one or other social networking platform. (More steps are needed for a truly open way of online social networking.)

These ‘open standards’ would also mean that not even Google could completely dominate the future of online social networking. This follows a pattern we can see in other parts of the software world.

Competition is now forming between established monopolies, like MS Word and its’ .doc format, and (often open source) products supporting open standards, like OpenOffice and .odf formats.

This is very different between the old competition between say, Apple and Microsoft, as rival closed software vendors.

Let’s not be sentimental about this however. These ‘open source’ products and ‘open standards’ are not being primarily developed by teenage Linux geniuses tapping away furiously in their untidy bedrooms in order to defeat the evil Microsoft empire, as some might have you believe.

In each case a major open software product is being promoted and invested in by a major software vendor, who is essentially trying to break the power of a monopolistic competitor. This is a good thing, whatever the motivation. An open standard or product promoted by a major software company will get used and can win the day, making everyone’s life easier and cheaper in the long run.

But there is another potential powerful backer of open standards and open software, other than corporations, which is government. Government should by now be learning to only invest in open standards and products, to cut its long-term software costs, and those of other governments, too.

Perhaps, in the current climate where New Labour and Tories tend to worship private enterprise as the fount of all wisdom, they will now be able to look to Sun Microsystems, Google and AOL, and ask: if these companies are investing in open standards and software rather than paying taxes to Microsoft, are there perhaps sound financial reasons for ministerial departments to do likewise?