One of our readers recently asked us to put up a list of cool gadgets one could add to Gmail using the Add gadget by URL feature in Gmail Labs, and like always we listen to our readers and have come up with a list of cool gadgets that you can add to your Gmail account.

In this series we will be covering different types of gadget you can use in your Gmail account, the list will be categorized for easier access to finding similar gadgets, we are kicking off the series, with the introduction of several Social Networking Gadgets for Gmail.

If you are not aware on how you can add custom gadgets to your Gmail account, refer to our earlier tutorial for adding custom gadgets to Gmail.

Twitter Gadget

If you are a Twitter user, there is a easy way to update your status and read your friends update, from right within the Gmail sidebar. Twitter Gadget for Gmail adds the ability in Gmail to quickly update your status while you are checking your emails and respond to your friends tweets among other things.

Twitter Gadget URL: http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml

Facebook Gadget

Facebook is the definitely one of the most popular social networking sites, and many Gmail users may definitely have a account in Facebook. The Facebook Gadget for Gmail will allow you to view your friend requests, friend updates, photo updates and more within the comfort of your Gmail account.

Facebook Gadget URL: http://www.brianngo.net/ig/facebook.xml

MySpace Gadget

MySpace is another popular social networking site that can find some space in many users Gmail account. To get MySpace alerts and keep up with your friends, try out the Mobile MySpace gadget for Gmail.

You will have to login to your MySpace account in order to be able to access the updates and friend updates.

MySpace Gadget URL: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/100080069921643878012/myspace.xml

Friendfeed Gadget

Friendfeed is a social networking aggregator that aggregates data from various social networking sites into a single place, allowing you to easily follow your followers without having to go through multiple sites, if you are a Friendfeed user, you can easily view your update streams in the Gmail sidebar with the Friendfeed Gadget. You will need to login to Friendfeed to be able to access your updates.

Friendfeed Gadget URL: http://friendfeed.com/embed/googlegadget/spec

Delicious Gadget

Delicious is a popular bookmarking service by Yahoo, if you are a delicious user, you can easily view all your bookmarks in the sidebar in Gmail, just add the My del.icio.us Gadget to Gmail and view the hot bookmark list or browse the ones you have bookmarked earlier.

All bookmarks open in a new window or tab.

My Del.icio.us Gadget URL: http://www.labpixies.com/campaigns/delicious/delicious.xml

Orkut Scrapbook Gadget

Orkut is one of the most popular social networking sites in India, the scrapbook in Orkut lets users instantly message friends. If you are a Orkut user you can keep a eye on your Orkut scraps by using the Orkut Scrapbook Gadget, the gadget will display all the latest scraps in the Gmail sidebar.

Orkut Scrapbook Gadget URL: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/105297062528314471242/doomer_orkut_scrapbook.xml

Digg Gadget

Digg is a place where you can find the most happening stories, if you do not want to spend time visiting Digg website to view the top stories, the official Digg gadget for Google will allow you to quickly view the top stories in News, Videos, Images and more.

You can also specify your username to view your friends updates.

Digg Gadget URL: http://digg.com/goog/ig.xml

Flickr Gadget

The Flickr Gadget will show you the most recent activity and the photos uploaded by you in the Gmail sidebar, click on a image to view it on a new page.

You may need to login to your Flickr account before you can see the updates in your Gmail sidebar.

Flickr Gadget URL: http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/100080069921643878012/flickr.xml

Do you think we missed any gadgets for Gmail in the social networking section? Which gadgets will you be using? Let us know about your views through your comments.

In the next post in the series we will be covering some really useful and time-saving utility gadgets, so keep tuned for more.