The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed a tool for MySpace users to get emergency broadcast warnings for natural disasters.

The tool was first deployed after Hurricane Gustav came ashore at the start of last week.

Officials from the DHS asked MySpace to fast-track the applications after the storm hit, and the service went live on Tuesday.

"What MySpace is doing with the DHS and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is the beginning of bigger things to come," MySpace chief security officer Hemanshu Nigam told Agence France-Presse.

"Tragedy often inspires people to do great things and this has happened here. "

The software links into Federal emergency warnings, but is also being used to track people displaced by the storms.

"MySpace is allowing me to keep my friends and family updated on our situation," a woman by the name of 'Becca' wrote in a message posted on Tuesday to a profile page of MySpace president Tom Anderson. "Thank you so much, from my heart."