Microsoft Corp.’s big bet on Facebook’s online social network isn’t stopping Chairman Bill Gates from promoting other popular Net hangouts.

Gates is helping out LinkedIn Corp.’s online professional network by setting up a profile on the service and posing a question to help draw more attention to a makeover of the Web site’s front page.

The question, scheduled to be posted Thursday, will solicit suggestions on the best way to energize more young citizens to pursue careers in science and technology.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn will energize its 19 million members to try out a new tool that will let them broadcast their daily activities to their connections. The “status” feature copies one of the top applications on Facebook’s site, which revolves around a more playful premise than LinkedIn’s buttoned-down atmosphere.

Gates plans to use LinkedIn’s status feature, although he decided against listing “trying to buy Yahoo” as his current activity. He instead will start off by letting everyone know

“Bill is checking out LinkedIn.”

The decision to take a closer look at LinkedIn might please a few industry analysts who have argued Microsoft would be better off buying several up-and-coming Web startups like LinkedIn instead of pursuing its current bid to acquire slumping Yahoo Inc. for more than $40 billion.

Although LinkedIn is frequently mentioned as an appealing takeover candidate, the Mountain View-based company so far has indicated it is more likely to manufacture an initial public offering of stock during the next year or two. LinkedIn spokeswoman Kay Luo declined to comment on Microsoft’s possible interest.

Microsoft late last year invested $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Palo Alto-based Facebook Inc., whose 66 million members manufacture it the Internet’s second largest social network behind News Corp.’s MySpace.

Gates is among Facebook members, although he reportedly stopped using the site recently considering he was tired of sifting…

Orginal post by Top Tech News