The Nike+ fitness tracking system, likely the largest connected fitness network in the world, is going built-in and social. And, according to the sneaker giant, it's "Game On, World."

For the first time, Nike is embedding its fitness-tracking sensor into the insoles of its athletic shoes, starting with the Hyperdunk+ basketball shoe, the Lunar Hyperworkout+ trainer for women and LunarTR1+ trainer for men. This news comes to us via Engadget, which reports that the sensor-enhanced Hyperdunk+ can even measure the wearer's elevation on a dunk.

Like the established standalone Nike+ sensor, these new kicks wirelessly transmit workout data to certain Apple iOS devices or to PCs. The iPhone 4S and most recent iPod nano models have the receiver built in; older iPhones, iPod Touches and iPod nanos need a $20 adaptor.

With the introduction of the sneakers, Nike also is jumping on the fitness challenge bandwagon by launching a program called "Game On, World." A series of commercials from the Beaverton, Ore.-based powerhouse ladles on the hyperbole by declaring: "It's time to forget everything you thought you knew about training because Nike+ Fitness is changing the game by making it a game."

Being able to challenge friends to meet fitness goals obviously not a new concept, but nobody else in this emerging but still-small niche – at least compared to the $2.7 trillion the U.S. spent on healthcare in 2011 – has the marketing muscle of a fitness brand that does $24 billion in annual sales worldwide. Brand cachet doesn't always work in health; Google Health is Exhibit A. But Nike+ has been around since 2006, so the shoe company apparently has found a market.

At least one influential name in mobile health sees potential for Nike+ beyond just fitness for those of us not able to dunk a basketball. "I am confident we can use the Nike+ technology for monitoring people with chronic diseases," iPhone ECG creator Dr. Dave Albert tweeted Monday morning.