This fall the Joint United Nations Programme On HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) launched AIDSspace, a social networking site for the global AIDS community.

The site will span country and continental borders to connect the 33.4 million people living with HIV to each other and to people and organizations working for the cause.

“The premise behind AIDSspace is simple,” states the AIDSspace Web site. “If hundreds of millions of people can connect on some of the most popular social networking sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube) to chat, share content, and keep on top of what’s happening, so can the AIDS and development communities.”

AIDSspace works like other social networks in that it allows users to create a profile and interact with others, but it also provides a gateway to AIDS/HIV information, proposal requests, and service provider reviews.

Members are invited to post and share HIV/AIDS content, such as new policies, case studies, conference posters, research, and multimedia materials.

Thus by signing up for AIDSspace, a user can learn from the work of others and exchange ideas, thereby strengthening the worldwide HIV/AIDS community.

Notably, AIDSspace also provides a feature in which HIV-affected individuals can both find and post related jobs.

As membership grows, so will the capabilities of the site.

According to the AIDSspace FAQ page, “the value of AIDSspace is defined by the individuals and organizations that use it to connect and share ideas and knowledge.”

Signing up is easy and membership is free.

To learn more, please visit the AIDSspace Web site.