Google is rolling out a new opt-in feature in Google+ that allows members to automatically find their faces in photos posted in this social networking site, as it pursues its bid to create an online community that can rival other social networking giants.

Google+ members, however, will be in control as they need to turn on the "Find My Face" feature to avail of this feature which will be added to Google+ in the next few days,

With this opt-in feature, Google is sidestepping privacy concerns which were raised when another social networking site, Facebook, added an opt-out facial recognition.

"By turning on Find My Face, Google+ can prompt people you know to tag your face when it appears in photos," Google+ photos team engineer Matt Steiner said. "Of course, you have control over which tags you accept or reject," he explained. "We hope this makes tagging your photos much easier."

And to further entice more members to join the site, games and other kinds of installable "apps" will be added. According to Vic Gundotra, vice president in charge of Google+, plans to open its social networking platform to outside developers to make games and other kinds of installable "apps" that have been part of Facebook's success are underway.

Another feature that will put Google+ at an advantage is the use of pseudonyms on accounts instead of their real names.

The social networking company wants to ensure that its social network is a safe, stable haven for families, friends, and other associates who connect with one another in "circles" created at the service.

Google+ has attracted more than 40 million users since it opened to the public in September, but has a long way to catch up with Facebook's membership of approximately 800 million.

"The incumbent has a huge advantage," Gundotra said. "If you play the same game, you are not going to win... So we are going to do it differently." And this means giving users more discretion regarding what they share and with whom, the Google official said.

"We are in this for the long haul... By Christmas you will see Google+ strategy coming together," he added.