Samsung is expected to launch a social network by early next year, according to a report from The Korea Times, which cites unnamed Samsung officials as its source. According to the report, Samsung is internally calling the project “Samsung Facebook,” and is hoping that its social network will eventually compete with Facebook.

Samsung is reportedly using its Family Story software as the basis for the social network. Family Story is a Samsung application currently on some Samsung Smart TVs that allows up to 20 family members to chat and share media through cloud-based storage. A Samsung official is quoted by The Korea Times as saying a free version of Family Story will be complete and will roll out to Samsung devices by the end of the year. The full social network will launch in the first quarter of 2013 “at the earliest.” The official said Samsung hopes to spread the social network over all of its devices, including cameras, TVs, and Blu-ray players.

At Samsung’s announcement of its new flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S III, the company spent quite a bit of time showing off the software it had developed and overlaid on Google’s Android. With Samsung beginning to become Apple’s major competitor in the smartphone market, it is possible that Samsung believes integrating proprietary social network software with all of its devices will ensure that its social network gains widespread adoption. However, Apple has already learned that sheer numbers alone can’t grow a social network: it was revealed today that Apple will be killing off Ping, its failed social music network, with the iOS 6 update.

(via The Korea Times)