Hola MySpace

MySpace.com has confirmed rumors that later this year it will be launching a Spanish-language version of its popular social networking site.

by Helen Leggatt

Spanish is the third most widely spoken language in the world with around 350 million native speakers. English is second with 370 million and Mandarin tops the list with 700 million.

When you consider that international visitors to MySpace stood at 90 million during December, 2006, you can see why MySpace is set to launch their Mexican site in beta.

A News Corp representative confirmed to CNETNews.com that the site had been “soft-launched”, meaning the site is live, but they are not yet attracting visitors or marketing its existence.

Around 1 million of MySpace’s users reside in Mexico, and their location will trigger a redirect to the new Spanish language site once it goes live in a few months time.

The Spanish site comes hot on the heels of MySpace’s French launch, and according to Travis Katz, head of international media for News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media (via CNET News), "Our international expansion is one of the biggest priorities for the company this year. We're really into the process of turning MySpace from a U.S.-based site into a global cultural phenomenon."

Spanish is not limited to being spoken in just South America and Spain, it is also the second language of 70 million people around the world. MySpace’s Spanish site can be viewed here.