May 18, 2005— Social networking has gone to the dogs.

A group of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed SNIF — social networking in fur — a system comprised of inexpensive sensors and communication devices imbedded in collars and leashes that collect and broadcast pertinent information to participating community members.

This new kind of social networking gives dog owners an opportunity to meet other animal lovers, share pet-worthy tips, make new friends and maybe even meet that special, lifetime companion.

"People make jokes about meeting people at the grocery store and walking dogs, but that stuff is really true," said Noah Fields, a graduate student in MIT's Media Lab, who along with three other students developed the system.

"There is a psychological pressure that is alleviated when you can talk through an animal."

The SNIF starter kit comes with an electronic collar and leash, a wall-mounted docking station, and membership in the Web-based community.

Before heading out on that first walk, a pet owner programs the dog collar, which then emits a unique sequence of light pulses.

A radio communication device in the collar broadcasts information about the dog and a sensor picks up information about other dogs in the SNIF network. If one is nearby, its unique light sequence will flash on the leash.

When the dogs meet, their collars use wireless communication to trade information that has been previously stored by the owners. The owner has the option of pressing a "compatible" or "incompatible" button located on the leash, depending how the dogs behave with each other.

As the dogs play, the collar continues to collect data from other SNIF collars, such as the length of time spent with favorite pals and the activity level during the encounters. The data is uploaded to the leash.

Once back at home, the leash is attached to a wall mount which automatically downloads information from that day's activities to the pet's profile on the SNIF Web site.

The wall mount also flashes when a pet's favorite dogs are out for their walk.

But unlike other types of social networking, this one requires participants to purchase accessories, which could slow adoption.

"It's a much larger hurdle because you have buy something," said Danah Boyd a Ph.D. student in information management and systems at University of California, Berkeley and an expert in sociable media.

But all it takes are a few friends in a small geographical area to participate and get the ball rolling, she said.

Fields and his team hope to have a few products in specialty pet shops by December.

And as any dog owner can attest, accessories come with the territory.