It has been discussed by users publicly but there hasn't been an official statement from vB regarding a portal system release. So for now users have to rely on hacks, extensions or custom pages. The most widely used is
vBadvanced.
In my opinion vBadvanced is the easiest to install but most difficult to customize, unless you stick with the default templates and basic routines. While there is a manual it is not the easiest to understand. Like anything else, if you devote the time and experiment a bit you can get desirable results.
You're invited to see how I've implemented vBadvanced. So far I've used it for my Home Page, Roster and Roster Profiles (info shown when you click on names). When you enter
The bac-Community click on the "Home" and Roster" links to view the pages.
My layout is just one example of many so ask around and see how the other vBadvanced users work it.