A very simple way to do this is to create the profiles, then use the profile manager for easy access. I could give you a step by step but I don't know what OS your using. I am using win7.
Read the small tut here:
h**p://lifehacker.com/5481213/master-multiple-firefox-profiles-for-more-productive-browsing
Get the firefox extension here:
h**ps://nic-nac-project.de/~kaosmos/index-en.html#profname
The extension does work with 3.6
I find it to be an easier way to launch different profiles.
Also, I have not found a solution as of yet for setting up the profiles in tabs, but using win7 as I am I'm not too concerned because I can access the different profiles just as easy.;