A social network service based on semantic web technology is set to be launched at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco today.

Seen in some quarters as an early example of the next wave of “Web 3.0” applications, Radar Networks’ Twine service uses Semantic Web, natural language and artificial intelligence technology to create more intelligent relationships between its members than those typical of MySpace and Facebook.

“It’s the next evolution of collective intelligence on the Web. Unlike social networking and community tools, Twine is not about who you know, it’s about what you know” said Radar Networks’ founder and CEO, Nova Spivack.

Although early comparisons with Facebook or Linked-In may be difficult for Twine to avoid, the service’s real focus seems not to be on the sharing of personal interests so much as the creation of structured information from shared knowledge. Nicholas Carr, the Harvard academic and IT industry commentator, describes the service as a “dedicated virtual librarian, working behind the scenes to organise a diverse or even chaotic array of information into a useful, structured form.”

Carr said Twine’s business model is likely to be based on adserving initially. However, Radar Networks is also considering providing access to its technology as a paid-for service for businesses and research groups.

Spivack founded Radar Networks in 2003. He had earlier co-founded EarthWeb, an early Web portal that broke the then record for first-day stock trading gains on its IPO in 1999. Radar has so far received $10 million in venture funding from Vulcan Capital, a venture capital business controlled by former Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, and Leapfrog Ventures.