In what must rank as one of the most overhyped announcements this year, Twitter has launched a new web application at Twitter.com.

The content of the announcement has been debated throughout the day on Tuesday. Rumours of an acquisition, fuelled in part by cryptic Tweets from staff at Twitter (via Techcrunch), were rife.

It fell to Robert Scoble to stream the announcement live from Twitter HQ with live tweeting by Twitter-founder Evan Williams, at around midnight UK time.

Twitter.com will become a media product with content sourced from your network. It will be a “faster, easier, and richer way to discover what’s new in your world”.

Instead of heading to the BBC or Daily Telegraph web sites for news, or using existing Twitter aggregator apps such as Flipboard, paper.li or Twittertim.es, Twitter.com will provide you with real time news as tweeted by your network.

The application, undoubtedly inspired by the Apple iPad, splits the screen in two: the left hand side consisted of an endless scroll through your network timeline, while the right hand side pulls in content such as photos and videos, from your network.

The bad news is that your may have to wait some time before you can access the new web application. The interface will be rolled out to users in the coming weeks. The development team is phasing the introduction to ensure that Twitter’s infrastructure is sufficiently robust.