Robert Scoble points to coverage of the MSN Spaces launch outside of Japan, which has been already predicted for a while, and finally talked about yesterday. So, of course, I joined the rush, and you can now visit my totally blank and cookie-cutter MSN Space. Upon first glance, the service seems interesting, if somewhat simplistic. You apparently get 10 MB of storage (can you pay and get more?), and tools like photo and music sample sharing (linked to purchases at MSN Music). You can blog by e-mail, although I'm not sure if that includes remotely posting pictures. I also don't see any explanation about using any sort of offline tool to post entries, apart from e-mail.

Since the whole thing ties into Passport/Hotmail/Messenger/etc., it's one big hug and share community service. Microsoft also finally launched a public beta of MSN Messenger 7, which I have been using for some time. For tablet users, there are some tiny improvements, like being able to pick background "stationery" in the handwriting window, but the writing experience is largely unchanged, unfortunately (so if you were hoping for better copy/paste support, you will be disappointed).

Looks like the service is still undergoing some final adjustments, since my Space just became temporarily unavailable. Now how about support for tablet users by adding ink drawing, posting, and commenting abilities into the web app?

Update: The links to the MSN beta site and MSN Spaces seem to come and go, so give it at least until tomorrow when things should hopefully stabilize.