MobileTechWorld reports that Microsoft may be set to add native support for user “check-ins” to its Windows Phone 7 platform, as part of an extended Windows Live service integration. It was suggested that this feature may be added to the anticipated Mango release of the operating system, which is expected to become available to consumers later this year. There is a possibility that Microsoft will offer developers access to the check-in API, in order to enable this to be embedded into third-party apps.

Building on the early success of Foursquare, the ability for users to “check-in” to specific locations has become something of a key feature for mobile apps, with Facebook among the companies offering a similar service. As with all social networking services, the real benefits come with scale, and by making check-ins a core platform feature that is open to third-party apps it should be easier to build a large user base across diverse user groups. PocketGamer notes that for customer wanting check-in functionality, both Foursquare and Facebook apps are already available for WP7.