MySpace Launches Spanish Language Site for U.S. Hispanics; MySpace Debuts Pan-Regional Site for Latin Americans

MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MySpace, the world’s leading lifestyle portal, announced today at the Billboard Latin American Music Conference the beta launch of MySpace en Español, a new Spanish-language version for U.S. based Hispanics. MySpace also revealed today a new pan-regional site in Spanish for Latin American residents as well as further development plans for localized communities in Mexico and Brazil.

“We’re moving rapidly to build communities that reflect and respect the lifestyles of our diverse members,” said Travis Katz, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MySpace International. “MySpace en Español opens the community even wider, giving our Hispanic members the choice to share their experiences, connect with family members, and plan their social lives in either Spanish or English. We look forward to getting their feedback as we build out these new cultural communities.”

MySpace en Español (http://latino.myspace.com) launched today in beta for U.S. residents as a Spanish version of MySpace’s current platform. The new site will spotlight content, programming, artists and users relevant to the U.S. Hispanic MySpace population, as well as a Spanish language version of the MySpace IM client.

The company also announced today a beta version of MySpace Latinoamérica (http://la.myspace.com), a pan-regional site in Spanish for Latin American users. Beginning today, more than 150 million residents from across Latin America will be able to access MySpace in Spanish through the new localized community. Across Latin America, MySpace will be working with local teams to develop relevant programming and unique partnerships most relevant for each country’s user base.

MySpace continues its commitment to building an international global network by revealing development plans for communities in Brazil and Mexico. The company announced today that it has plans to launch a Brazilian site this summer and will be ready to officially launch MySpace Mexico, currently in beta, in the coming months.

MySpace Mexico recently partnered with EMI Records for a compilation CD of label artists and unsigned talent. The album is currently on sale in record stores across Mexico and is found on MySpace at http://myspace.com/eldiscomyspacemexico. Additionally, MySpace Mexico is sponsoring Vive Latino (http://myspace.com/vivelatino), the country’s largest music festival on May 5 & 6, 2007 in Mexico City to encourage the community’s attendance and interaction with local artists.

According to last month’s Nielsen Netratings, 43% of all U.S. based Hispanic Internet users are visiting MySpace and the site is among the country’s top 5 most visited sites by the Hispanic Web population. MySpace’s own internal numbers show that more than six million members have indicated their origin as either Latino(a) and/or Hispanic in the United States alone.

MySpace’s global network includes twelve localized communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Australia, Ireland, as well as beta versions of MySpace communities in Italy, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico.

Travis Katz, of MySpace International, is on-site at the Billboard Latin American Music Conference today and tomorrow to discuss the portal’s international launch strategy and Latin American expansion plans.

About MySpace

MySpace, a Fox Interactive Media company, is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the second ranked destination in terms of page views(1), MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind and is committed to providing the highest quality member experience. MySpace will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off. MySpace’s international network includes localized community sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Germany, Australia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, Latin America and New Zealand.

(1) Among the top 2000 domains comScore Media Metrix, March 2007. For more information on comScore Networks, please go to http://www.comscore.com.