They're based in Finland and currently service mostly the local collegiate crowd, but they're gearing up to go global.
We got a run down of the focus and features of MySites at the Austin stop on our SummerMash tour. Watch via the embed below or grab the MP4.
When you log in for the first time you'll notice what looks similar to a standard desktop. You even have to double click to launch any of the icons on your new Web desktop. Here's what the default looks like.
They're all pretty much self-explanatory. My Buddies are your favorite members of MySites, My Favorites contains all of your favorite links as well as those saved by members, My Files can be just about anything you want to save including documents, My Movies, My Pictures and My Tunes. My Updates are your status updates and My Messages contain any messages sent to you from other members. Here's the slick interface for viewing your pictures.
The best part of the service, besides being able to store up to 10 GB of your media in the cloud, is the ability to share any of these items. The share link is accessible on everything you view. Here's an example of a movie file:
Once you click the Share link you'll see a bunch of options. You can share any item with direct links or you can embed them via HTML code on your website or blog. You can also bookmark the link, send to a mobile device or download the file (handy if you're not at the same computer that uploaded the file, of course).
MySites gives you plenty of space to host your files and media. Being able to share any of these things makes the site a great repository for anything you want to keep available online and use from your social network accounts. Sure, there are sites that can host your files like Box.net, iDrive, and DropBox, but MySites does more than just host and share your files like those sites. Being able to actually view your media through their online players makes MySites one of the best Web desktops available today.
Never Miss an Episode!
Get the Mashable Conversations podcast here (video feed).