AOL said Monday that it has closed the $850 million purchase of Bebo and has put Bebo CEO Joanna Shields in charge of the newly acquired social network, AIM and ICQ.

Shields will be in charge of a new AOL unit dubbed “People Networks.” The general theme (Techmeme): Integrate social networking throughout the AOL network and its 80 million users. Shields, who landed at the AOL via the Bebo purchase, will report to AOL president and operating chief Ron Grant.

As part of the move, AOL said it will focus on three areas: The advertising network, publishing and people networks. The goal: Figure out a way to monetizing social networking, a challenge that has befuddled monetization kings like Google.

Among the items on AOL’s social networking to-do list

• Integrate AOL IM, chat and email into Bebo. Users will have common screen names.
• Integrate other AOL acquisitions–Goowy Media and Yedda for instance–into the People Networks unit. AOL will also cross-distribute content on these properties. In short, you’ll see Bebo’s original programming across multiple properties.
• Monetize this social fiesta with open media platforms and content screening.

The U.S. Justice Department approved the merger between satellite radio companies Sirius and XM Monday, more than a year after the two companies first announced their deal.

But for fans of Howard Stern, Opie & Anthony and other Sirius and XM on-air personalities, there are still many questions about how much a combined Sirius-XM service will cost and what programs they’ll be able to hear. Plus, Sirius and XM face one more regulatory hurdle before the deal can officially be completed.

In its decision, the Department of Justice determined that an XM-Sirius merger was not anti-competitive. The Justice Department argued that other media companies such as Clear Channel (CCU, Fortune 500), CBS (CBS, Fortune 500), or even Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) with its iTunes software and iPod music player served as alternate options for music and media customers.

The Department of Justice did not place any conditions on the merger.

“Since we determined that there was no competition between the companies, we did not need to set any conditions as such,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas Barnett during a conference call with reporters Monday afternoon.

But the Federal Communications Commission must also approve the deal. The FCC has yet to make a decision on the merger and it could decide to place conditions on the deal. A spokesperson for the FCC was not immediately available for comment.

Since Sirius and XM are still awaiting approval from the FCC, it is unclear exactly what a merger would mean for consumers. Both companies charge their customers a $12.95 per month subscription fee for their most basic packages. Some have feared that if Sirius and XM are allowed to merge, the two companies would raise the monthly price.

However, the companies said last year that they would be willing to offer a so-called “a la carte” price plan where consumers could pick certain packages for less money.

The merger would combine the nation’s only two satellite radio companies and create a company with about 14 million subscribers. It would bring together Sirius’ most well-known content, including shock jock Stern and National Football League games with XM’s Major League Baseball as well as programming from Oprah Winfrey.

Currently, subscribers for either Sirius or XM can only receive broadcasts from one of the two services with their satellite radios. But in a statement Monday, XM reiterated that radios owned by its current subscribers would not need to be replaced in order to continue receiving programming.

Shares of XM (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI) both rose after the announcement.