Twitter verified that it is working on new features designed to help companies use the micro blogging site to raise their business. A Twitter spokesperson today told that a limited beta test of new business-oriented features is currently in progress. Spokesperson Carolyn Penner said in an e-mail message that a couple 100 companies are testing the feature.

Twitter would not release details about the new features. Last December, though, a company blog post released plans for a feature called Contributors that would permit companies to better communicate with probable users by allowing multiple bylined twitters.

Jason Goldman said in a conference that last week Twitter had started working with companies to make attractive business services. Firms like Dell, Zappos.com and JetBlue are now using Twitter to give info on new products and to gives discounts to new and old customers.

Twitter said that as companies more and more use the microblogging site, they are looking for ways to make it more effective -- to find out who is reading their tweets, and who is responding to them. Though Twitter has acknowledged working on business oriented updates to the site, it stays blurred how the company will charge for such services.