Vine dashboard

Microsoft has just launched a private beta of Vine.

What is it? Well its like Twitter for emergencies.

Users can use Vine for quickly notify neighbours for example of a recent crime in the area to rallying for a cause.

The service was inspired four years ago during Hurricane Katrina, when a Microsoft general manager was finding ways to help communities to share and trade private information.

Vine is available for computers running Windows XP with SP2, as well as Windows Vista 32- and 64-bit versions.

It is in beta mode and currently open to 10,000 individuals based in the Seattle area.