Apple 'to axe Ping social network in next iTunes update'

Apple's social networking experiment with the Ping service is set to come to an end this year, according to a report.

All Things Digital cites sources close to Apple as saying that music social network Ping will be dropped in the next release of iTunes.

In May, Apple chief executive Tim Cook suggested that Apple had all but given up on making Ping a success, but he did not precisely confirm plans to kill the service.

"We tried Ping and I think the customer voted and said this isn't something I want to put a lot of energy into," said Cook.

Despite enjoying incredible success with hardware products such as the iPhone and iPad, Apple has struggled to rival Facebook and others with Ping, the music-oriented social network that launched in 2010.

On top of the problem that Ping was only available to a limited number of iTunes users, the network has also been hit with spam and criticised for a lack of artist profiles.

With Facebook set to join Twitter as an integral part of the iOS mobile operating system this year, it appears that Apple is ready to abandon the Ping experiment.

All Things Digital says that Ping will be gone from the next software update to iTunes, which is expected to launch this autumn alongside iOS 6.