Six Apart introduces Movable Type 4.2 and with it the debut of Movable Type Pro (MT Pro), a product that combines Movable Type’s advanced blogging tools and content management system with social networking features.

Movable Type Pro makes building a community possible for anyone, including publishers, individual bloggers, educational institutions, small and medium-sized businesses or large enterprises. Site owners can build community blogs, in which members create their own posts, or forums, in which members participate using the same profile and avatars used throughout the site.

Besides the social networking features in Movable Type Pro, the product includes the popular custom fields feature, which gives site owners the freedom to add new attributes to their content, and a beautiful Professional Template Set.

Movable Type 4.2 is available under a free, open source license or as part of Movable Type Pro. Six Apart also offers Movable Type Enterprise, which adds support for Oracle and SQL Server databases and LDAP on top of Movable Type Pro features.

“Publishers and bloggers are increasingly looking to introduce social networking capabilities to their sites, as they look for ways to increase reader engagement,” said Chris Alden, CEO of Six Apart.

Now any website or blog owner can create a vibrant social network by letting their readers and visitors become members of their sites, with profiles and the ability to rate content and follow each other.

Founded in 2001, Six Apart is a global company with its headquarters in San Francisco, and offices in Tokyo, Paris and New York City.