News Corporation has its sights set on China, as popular online networking website MySpace prepares to make a debut this spring.  Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch plans for his company to hold less than a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, with the IDG-Accel China Growth Fund as a major partner.

Former senior Microsoft exec Luo Chuan is expected to be named the first CEO of MySpace China.  Previously involved with China's MSN portal, he has been working with News Corp. and IDG from the initial stages of the project.  Other power players anticipated to be involved on the board include former China Netcom CEO Edward Tian and Murdoch's wife Wendi Deng.

Promising a site designed specifically for Chinese tastes, Murdoch hopes that cooperation with local companies will ensure user satisfaction. The venture's classification as a domestic business should also eliminate complications which have previously limited News Corp. in its attempts to gain broadcasting rights on the mainland.

Since his 2005 purchase of MySpace for a remarkable US$580 million, Murdoch has focused on expanding to international markets. The UK and Japan versions of the site were launched last year, and feedback has been positive. In fact nearly 25 percent of new accounts are registered outside of the US, amounting to about 81,000 people daily.

Although MySpace holds the title of most-viewed site in America, surpassing even Yahoo! and Google, growth at home is beginning to slow. Taking note of China's rapidly expanding internet community, currently estimated at 137 million and rising, News Corp. expects to see big returns. A key factor in attracting Chinese users will be the popularity of blogging, with over 20 million weblog users currently registered on Chinese sites.

Murdoch is not the only businessman looking to China as the next frontier for internet communications.  Microsoft recently announced that it will open a Shanghai office dedicated specifically to research and development for its MSN program, a favorite among Chinese youth.  This is the first such overseas center for the software giant, a major statement on the importance of China for future gains.

Pending the application for an internet services license, MySpace China, headquartered in Beijing, could be up and running within months.

(China.org.cn by Natalie Litofsky, February 5, 2007)