DETROIT -- GM customers may soon have the ability to update their Facebook pages and listen to text messages from behind the wheel, General Motors Co. officials said Wednesday.

Along with these new features, the automaker plans to launch a new ad campaign for its OnStar system this month , GM officials said, but declined to give further details.

GM has been striving to break new ground in a market Ford Motor Co. has long dominated with its Sync system.

Earlier this year, GM announced a partnership with Google Inc. to link smart phones to OnStar. The link gives subscribers the ability to search for directions by voice and download maps from OnStar.

GM also has introduced a new OnStar mobile app that allows drivers to remotely control some functions on their vehicles, such as unlocking doors and starting the ignition. They also can check tire pressure and fuel economy via a smart phone using this app.

''This is a real clear chance to break with old tradition," said James Bell, an executive market analyst with Kelley Blue Book.

''GM can't slide down the scale, especially compared with Ford, with being responsive to younger buyers' interest."

For now, the Facebook and text messaging technologies are in an experimental phase, GM says, but if they're implemented, they will be available to OnStar subscribers, who pay an annual fee for these services.

The new options would allow Facebook users to update their status by speaking aloud in the car and have their news feed read to them by OnStar.

Drivers also would have the ability to connect their smart phones to the vehicle's OnStar system through Bluetooth. When a text message arrives, OnStar will read it, and the driver will have a chance to pick from four replies using buttons on the steering wheel, GM officials explained.

The new technologies will help expand GM's menu of services for OnStar, a system originally developed for safety and vehicle theft protection. GM pioneered this field in 1996 when it introduced the OnStar system, but has since fallen behind in other areas, such as developing software for entertainment uses.

Ford's Sync, a $395 option that debuted in 2007, lets motorists control their connected cell phones, music players and other onboard technologies with voice commands.

OnStar subscriptions start at $199 annually and go up, depending on which services are provided.