Admitted Gametrailers.com board 'lurker' Neobara, has leaked information gathered from a friend that works in the R&D Department of Sony regarding the newest features of the upcoming 2.7 firmware:

" Friends List:
- Voice Messaging is now available as an alternative to text after selecting a user on the friends list. Voice message recordings are capped at 30 seconds.
- Home Integration: Saved Playstation Home avatar photos can be selected as photo ID for Gamer Card/Friends List.
- Trophy number and Gamer Level are listed under Friend names for quick reference.

Gamer Card & Trophies:
- Gamer Card layout has been changed to more closely resemble the Playstation Store aesthetic.
- Past Trophy information can be viewed in detail by selecting "Recent Trophy History" option.
- Newly aquired trophies auto-sync in the background
- Server infrastructure for Trophies has been optimized. Resulting in faster retrieval time for Gamer Card and Trophy information.

In-Game XMB:
- Loading time for In-Game XMB has been drastically reduced, resulting in a more seemless in-game experience.
- "Theme settings" options while in-game is now available, allowing custom themes to be applied to the In-Game XMB.
- Internet Browser can now be accessed while in-game.
- Voice messaging and voice chat options can be used while in-game.
- Options that cannot be used in the XMB during game sessions are grayed out (but still selectable) to eliminate user accessibility confusion.

Misc:
- Other slight UI tweaks and enhancements. "

So it would seem PSN is getting on the ball with very similar features to Xbox 360's 'live' format.

and why not in a world where companies dispute and steal ideas over avatars

Source: http://forums.gametrailers.com/thread/736764?page=1