News Corp said yesterday it would launch the Chinese version of the popular social networking website MySpace today, the latest Internet giant to tap into China's huge online market after Yahoo, Amazon, eBay and Google.

"Based on MySpace global brand and technology platform, we will develop products and features that are tailored to Chinese citizens," MySpace CEO Luo Chuan, a former Microsoft executive, said.

MySpace China was co-founded by Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Corp, International Data Group and China Broadband Capital Partners, the investment company of former China Netcom Group Corp chief executive, Edward Tian.

But the new company identified itself as a "locally owned, operated and managed company." "MySpace China is a local Internet company," said Luo.

According to an earlier report from Caijing Magazine citing an anonymous source, News Corp owns 40 percent stake in MySpace China, Luo and his team control 32 percent, with the remainder shared by IDG and China Broadband Capital Partners.

But the report has yet to be confirmed.

Liu Bin, chief analyst from research group BDA China, said: "I think Murdoch knows that if MySpace wants to succeed in China, it must make more localization efforts, which means its Chinese management team needs to have more decision-making power."

But he also said independent local management would not guarantee MySpace's success here.

Cao Junbo, chief analyst from domestic research firm iResearch, said the most urgent challenge for the new company was how it could attract a large number of users from its local competitors in a short time.

"MySpace is a latecomer in China," he said.

"Although it has received unparalleled popularity in the US, it is still a new face to most Chinese Internet users."

(China Daily April 27, 2007)