This morning, AOL will launch an updated look for its Bebo social-networking property, with a new “social inbox” profile for its users.

The inbox, which you can see below in the old and new versions, essentially gives its users a one-stop destination, with aggregated social feeds from across the Web, multiple email accounts and media recommendations.

But, according to sources with knowledge of AOL’s plans, the online service is preparing a more radical series of announcements after the new year, well beyond its release today.

Interestingly, the changes to its social-networking and communications properties yet to be announced have been among the things that have impressed Yahoo (YHOO), whose execs have been briefed on the changes, as part of the never-ending talks with the Time Warner (TWX) about buying its AOL asset.

That includes offering AOL’s various social-networking tools–such as chat rooms, news feeds and instant messaging–to be easily embedded by any Web site. The service will be called “Site Social,” with plans to use AOL’s advertising platform to help monetize the offering.

In addition, the renovation of the Bebo profile pages will continue, with more innovative features, including the introduction of an interactive “timeline” that shows a person’s online “lifestream” in a scrolling fashion.

BoomTown has seen the timeline–in which events of any kind can be depicted, from your book club schedule to a trip to Hawaii.

While it looks like eye candy at first, it is also pretty useful–especially a mobile version. And it is definitely the most visually striking version of a news feed that is offered by competitors.

“It is part of a left brain/right brain strategy to improve our services, distinguishing them from the pack,” said one person familiar with the upcoming changes at AOL. “But we also have all these tools and want to reach out to publishers who need to socialize their sites and find it hard to do so.”

The move today to update Bebo, though, is strikingly similar to redesigns that have been recently rolled out by large Web players like Microsoft (MSFT) and Yahoo.

All are attempts to offer a competing product to popular social-networking sites like Facebook and News Corp. (NWS) unit MySpace, where users have flocked. (News Corp. is the owner of this Web site.)

Those two companies have also been making moves of late to allow consumers to aggregate their disparate piles of online information in through connective offerings that allow them to pool all kinds of Web content and communications in one place.

AOL is hoping its efforts will focus users more on Bebo, which it bought for $850 million in March. Bebo is one of the larger social networks, although it is not popular in the U.S. and lags behind the leaders like Facebook.

AOL execs are hoping to change that by changing the game, focusing on Bebo’s strong media offerings and making it the centerpiece of its social-networking and communications unit, run by former Bebo head Joanna Shields.

AOL’s People Networks unit, which includes Bebo, AIM and ICQ, has an overall audience of 92 million unduplicated users worldwide, said AOL, referencing a recent comScore (SCOR) survey.

“The current fragmented social networking environment makes keeping up-to-date with others increasingly difficult,” said Shields, who is now president of People Networks, in a press release statement. “By opening up our network to the most popular sites and allowing our users to pull in the best of the Internet, we are creating an environment where everyone can easily and effectively manage their online lives, no matter where the individual pieces reside.”

The launch companies for the new inbox include: Twitter, Flickr, Del.icio.us, YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, as well as AOL-owned AIM and AOL Mail. In addition, all AOL and AIM users now can now log into Bebo using their credentials and create a profile.

Here’s more specific info, from the AOL press release:

Today’s enhancements to Bebo.com, the first in a series of scheduled releases for early 2009, include:

• Media Favorites: A new recommendations engine built on the foundations of Bebo’s Open Media Platform delivers the most relevant online entertainment (including video, music, groups and games) into one place. Media Favorites are based on users’ stated preferences and aggregated data such as: what their friends are watching and listening to and what people like them like, subject to appropriate privacy settings. This feed pulls in current Bebo content and group subscriptions, making it easy to get a quick snapshot of all personalized content. Bebo already boasts one of the most extensive online media offerings available, with programming from over 500 media companies including MTV, ESPN, CBS and the BBC.

And here are the before and after Bebo profiles (click on the images to make them larger and keep clicking to make them clearer):

OLD BEBO

NEW BEBO

Dear Sheryl,

First off, I hope you had a nice first day at Facebook as the new COO, or, as BoomTown is going to call you forthwith: Where-The-Buck-Now- Stops.

Now that you have been issued your official social-networking company flip-flops and gotten your arms around the Beacon issue (here’s a Cliff Note on that debacle for you: AVOID!), I am here at the head of the complaints line, ready to start yammering on.

And today’s yammer? For the love of SuperPokes, please fix Facebook’s mail!

While I know this is not in your purview (products are under Matt Cohler, who is under Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whom you are under), I really don’t care.

All I know is that it is a major problem within the Facebook service and its continued lameness will eventually strain your audience’s patience and, ultimately, its size. And a smaller audience means less advertising–which is your sweet spot!

If you don’t believe me, see where the lack of innovation with AOL’s (TWX) email service–which was once dominant–led. Hotmail (MSFT), Yahoo Mail (YHOO), Gmail (GOOG).

Why? Well, you could not do anything good with the mail, which was trapped inside AOL (the original blockers of data portability) and very few good options were available to save, store and manipulate it within the closed AOL service.

And there are even fewer features in your closed service. I cannot move the mail. I cannot sort it. I cannot search it. I cannot move it here and there.

What can I do? I can “Mark It As Unread,” “Mark It As Read” and “Delete” it. Wheeeeeee.

Currently, for example, I have 154 messages waiting for me in my Facebook email box that I cannot be bothered to open. Why?

Well, I already get alerted to them in my regular mail in full text, so why bother? Usually, I ask Facebook emailers to send me email directly to my regular email address in my reply.

As for sent mail? I can add a video, or share a link or send a gift (no, I am not sending you a digital ice cream cone ever!) and little else.

And while I know you have announced a soon-to-appear chat feature, it sounds suspiciously as under-featured at launch as your mail is now.

It apparently cannot be seen outside Facebook and will not integrate with popular services like AIM, third-party apps cannot be built on it and it is one-on-one only.

You can see the problem here. While I realize you would rather focus on more youth-loving stuff like your Wall (we’ll get to that later), it still seems as if top-notch communications apps should be a priority at Facebook if it wants to become, as Zuckerberg has said many times, my “social utility.”

And right now, mail–at least–is pretty useless.

Tomorrow: Data portability!

Now, horror of horrors, there is a service on Virgin America where passengers can do seat-to-seat chatting. WSJ.com’s Tech Diary video blogger Andy Jordan tries it out and finds most people really don’t want to be bothered, although that does not seem to stop some from bothering anyway.

Also a problem: the touchscreens irk the people in front of the chatter, what with all the poking (which is icky enough on Facebook).

See for yourself: