LinkedIn, the B2B social networking site known for its professional listings, is now offering the ability to view Company Profiles.

According to their blog, "you'll be able to see over 160,000 profiles of companies on LinkedIn, ranging from Fortune 500 companies (e.g. eBay) to philanthropic organizations (e.g. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) as well as LinkedIn's own Company Profile page."

The information could be useful, whether you're researching an industry, writing a business plan, or trying to find sales leads by company. It could also help you get some exposure for your own company. Information in the Company Profile includes:

• Number of people in your network who work at that company
• New hires, recent promotions and changes
• Most popular profiles
• Individuals in the news
• Related companies
• Key statistics: location, industry, type, company size, revenue, year founded, web address and employee stats
  

According to the LinkedIn blog, data is aggregated from LinkedIn's own database and is combined with basic industry information from Business Week.

Be careful when reading any stats like this however. There may be inaccuracies in how individuals report and the way LinkedIn puts the information together. Plus, LinkedIn is saying any company, no matter how small, can have a profile, but it's not clear how you do that yet. And the only way to get to the Company Profiles is by going to an individual's profile first -- not the easiest navigation.

For more info, read the LinkedIn blog