Disqus is one of a handful of third party comment systems that bloggers and web publishes can install to supercharge the comment sections of their web sites. It provides tools that are missing from many web publishing platforms, including threaded comments, rankings, and the ability for users to login with their Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID credentials.

Today Disqus rolled out version 3.0, which includes a handful of major updates. The first thing you'll notice if you visit a web site that uses Disqus is that the comments can be updated in real-time, although they can also be set to show you a notice that says "x comments were just posted" instead of auto-refreshing and rearranging the page.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Disqus 3.0 has a beefed up profile page that lets individuals track the comments they've posted across any blog using the Disqus plugin. Users were always able to track this info, but Disqus 3.0 spins off profiles into a separate product with a new look and an integrated search box that makes it easy to find comments, replies, and subscribed threads all in one place.

For web publishers, the Disqus comment moderation page has been refined, making it easier to find and filter comments. Disqus can also show reactions from FriendFeed, Twitter, Digg, YouTube, and other web sites, and version 3.0 reportedly brings these reactions in faster than the previous version of Disqus.

Another feature I noticed for the first time today (I don't know for certain if it's brand new) is the ability to import comments from JS-Kit or Intense Debate, which makes it easier for web publishers that have been using one of these competing services to switch to Disqus, or at least try it out.

[via TechCrunch]