LinkedIn has launched a new service for companies to extend their presence on the professional social networking site, by allowing professionals to make product and service recommendations.

Company Pages is an extension of the website’s current offering for company profiles. LinkedIn members will now be able to recommend products and services; companies will then be able to showcase these recommendations to their followers.

The service is designed to allow companies to build up the same level of detail on a profile that individual users of LinkedIn can currently develop. Beyond the recommendations, companies can place videos and product information on their Company Pages, and highlight particular employees through the Careers tab. Company Pages also allows companies to highlight recent press coverage, as well as reaching out to potential employees.

LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said of the launch that “Company Pages take product and service recommendations to another level”, as well as emphasising that “businesses can use Company Pages to accelerate growth and trust in their brands.”

The announcement was made at LinkedIn’s marketing and advertising customer summit, Connect:10, yesterday in New York. Several companies, including the Open University and Philips, have already launched Company Pages in beta on the website.