The private sector should engage with social media to attract customers, according to analyst Gartner, which estimates that more than 60 per cent of Fortune 1,000 companies with a web site will connect to or host some form of online community by 2010.

Doing so will give companies access to a wealth of customer data and help the organisation to focus on customer needs, the analyst firm believes.

"A key benefit of establishing a community is the amount of information an organisation can gain about its customer base, which can be used for short-term and long-term customer relationships," said Adam Sarner, principal research analyst at Gartner.

But Gartner predicts that more than half of companies that set up an online community will fail to establish a beneficial purpose, ultimately eroding customer and company values.

"Companies will be challenged with what applications to use, who ultimately owns an application and with the management of socialisation itself, from measuring success and mitigating negative interactions to sourcing and cultural restraints," explained Sarner.

This pitfall can only be avoided through careful consideration of social sciences and awareness of customer needs, according to the analyst, as well as proficiency in game design to create highly engaging and highly relevant environments.