Social networking aficionados can friend their grandma's third cousin twice removed.

GeneTree, a company that runs a social networking website based on DNA tests, is now out of beta.
Since launching in 2007, the site has grown to include about 100,000 users and 1.5 million profiles of family members, Matt Cupal, the president of GeneTree told The Industry Standard.

The Web site itself is free, and users can sign-up to create a family tree, upload pictures and link to family members. For an additional $149 to $179, users can submit a mouthwash sample for mitochondrial DNA analysis that can help them link to distant, unknown relatives.

"We can compare you to people inside our database and sort of map you in the world," Cupal said. "We literally traveled to 170 different countries, places like Mongolia, and collected DNA samples. 

Another company, Ancestry.com, runs a similar service based on DNA samples. Both GeneTree and Ancestry.com let users share profiles, photos, videos and ancestry documents.

A third online service operated by the National Geographic Genographic Project lets participants take a cheek swab DNA test to trace maternal or paternal ancestry. Its service costs $99. 

All of these endeavors aim to let users create links that transcend national boundaries.

"Our goal is to map the world's DNA and extend the concept of family," Cupal said. "It's a little bit of an audacious goal."

While the focus of GeneTree is genealogy, Cupal indicated that other applications might be developed down the road, Cupal added.