MySpace Launches Social Networking Site in India

MySpace is a unit of Murdoch's Fox Interactive Media Inc. with its network including community sites in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Japan, Europe and Latin America, and in 15 languages.

Travis Katz, Managing Director of International for MySpace, said it was important for social networking sites to expand quickly globally, as 75 per cent of the world's internet users - and 50 per cent of the world's online advertising spend - were outside the US.

"We're thrilled today to be launching MySpace in one of the world's most vibrant cultures," said Katz.

"We will be providing the people of India the tools they need to live their lives online and empower them with a launch pad for Indian creators from developers, to musicians to filmmakers, to showcase their talents on the global stage."

Katz was in Seoul earlier this week to mark the launch Tuesday of a Korean-language MySpace site.

MySpace, which has about 80 million users worldwide according to Nielsen Online, is the dominant network in the US, while Facebook, which has 39 million, is more widely used in the UK.

Both MySpace and Facebook have been eyeing up new territories as the popularity of social networking grows. MySpace said it plans to launch in Russia.

Last month Facebook indicated that it would soon be launching a version of its site in China by calling on Chinese-speaking users to help translate the site into Chinese - a technique it had used before launching a Spanish version in February.