Social networking website MySpace is set to get into games. The site announced that it will set up a new gaming channel to distract bored office workers and teenagers from their daily drudgery.

The channel will be put together in partnership with Oberon Media, a company that specialises in providing casual games content to corporations such as Microsoft, Comcast, Sprint, Verizon, Electronic Arts and France Telecom.

Details remain sparse, but the companies say that hundreds of games will be available and the service will go live next year.

The move makes good sense for MySpace, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for $580 million (£283.7 million) in 2005. MySpace has been under a great deal of pressure from Facebook of late.

Although MySpace still dwarfs its competitor by 78.6 million active users to 28.1 million according to Nielsen Net Ratings, according to analysts at comScore, Facebook has grown its user base by 179% in the last six months, compared to just a 7% growth in MySpace.

Harnessing the pulling power of casual games with a solid offering could help MySpace secure its position as the daddy of social networking.