Google has decided to put an end to its browser-based virtual community service Lively, effective from December 31.

The web search giant has explained on its official blog that Lively will be closed so that company’s resources can be better focused to its “core” search, ads and apps businesses.

Google says the decision to close Lively was difficult to make: “We launched Lively … because we wanted users to be able to interact with their friends and express themselves online in new ways. Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it"s the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people"s lives. But we"ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.”

The company adds that its employees who are working on the project will move on to other teams.

Source: VentureBeat