Verizon Wireless announced today that Loopt, a social-mapping service, will be available next month.

Photo: Verizon Wireless Adds Friend-Finding Service Photo 1

Users can share location information, status messages and geo-tagged photos with their friends. Consumers can view where friends in their private network are located via a map displayed on their mobile phones and connect and share their locations with anyone in their address books or AIM buddy lists. Detailed Loopt maps show users where friends are, what they are doing and how to meet up with them, offering social tools to connect, share and explore the real world.

Loopt is permission-based and users share location information only with their known friends via private networks. In addition, users can turn location-sharing on or off at any time on a friend-by-friend basis or for all friends at once.

Verizon Wireless customers will be able to purchase Loopt beginning in April, costing $3.99 monthly access.