Apple has added its music-focused social network Ping to the iTunes app for iPad.

iPad users can now access the all of the features of the music-based social network through a new button at the bottom of the iTunes app. In order to utilize Ping's features, users must open the iPad app, and it will be automatically updated with no additional download required.

Within the iTunes app, Ping works in much the same way that it works on the iPhone. Ping will track users' purchases on iTunes and let them see and comment on the music that their Ping friends are downloading through a live feed.

The integration of Ping comes before the anticipated release of iOS 4.2, which should drop later this month.

Ping was launched at the end of August. Within the first 48 hours of its existence, more than one million users had already signed up. At the time, that was just a third of the users who had downloaded iTunes 10, the update necessary to use Ping.

Last week, Apple's musical social network expanded its reach through a partnership with Twitter. Ping users can now integrate their Twitter followers into their Ping contacts, Twitter announced Thursday. Ping users can link to their Twitter account, and automatically respond when another user posts, likes, reviews, or purchases a song via iTunes. Song previews and links to purchase different content can be added to Tweets, too.

As of last week, Ping has been faced with new competition from contact-sharing service Bump. Bump users can now share songs the Bump app on their iPhone. With version 2.2 of the Bump iPhone app, it's possible to play shared songs for free on YouTube and preview or purchase the file in the iTunes store.