MSN announced the beta release of Soapbox on MSN Video. SoapBox is a user-uploaded video service that allows people to upload, discover and share personal videos with the Soapbox community. Soapbox will be available on MSN Video and will be integrated throughout Microsoft’s portfolio of online services, including Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.

With Soapbox, Microsoft is hoping to capture some of the enormous successes of YouTube.

“Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience,” said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. “By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video.”

Soapbox uses its own player for uploading, searching and sharing video. Users can rate, comment, and tag videos. Users will be able to share videos by sending links to videos or embedding them in a website or blog.

MSN Soapbox [MSN]