USA Today's new website went live this morning.  You can read a note from the editors about the redesign here and a breakdown of the new features here. 

I like it. 

The key here is the social networking component.  Users can create profiles that include personal information, blog entries, photos and a list of friends.  These profiles are then linked to every time a user comment on articles.  You can see the test profile I created here. 

The site also includes tons of other features such as tagging, voting on stories, RSS feeds, etc.   The user interface includes a good dose of Ajax, which is smart.  It will cut down on page views a bit but it creates a much better user experience.

In order to succeed online newspapers are going to have to build vibrant communities around their websites.  With its new site, USA Today appears to be doing just that. 

Give it a look and let us know what you think in the comments.