MySpace to launch in Japan with Softbank

A report in Japan’s Nihon Keizai newspaper states that News Corporation and Softbank are set to launch a 50-50 joint venture that will bring MySpace.com — the world’s most popular online community — to Japan, Reuters reported.

Shares of mixi, the biggest social community in Japan, tumbled 5 percent to 2.14 million yen due to investor concerns that MySpace will attract its subscribers.

MySpace Japan would initially be available online but later add the ability to post photos and blog entries with cell phones. The Nihon Keizai said the companies may announce the deal as early as this week.

News Corp bought MySpace.com, which is popular with teenagers, last year for an estimated $US580 million ($A754 million), and has transformed it into one of the internet’s fastest-growing properties. MySpace, which has more than 100 million users worldwide, may be attractive to the growing number of Japanese Internet users looking to share ideas and submit diary entries with a group of friends online. “MySpace is seen as having a high potential in Japan,” said Atsuo Takahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Securities. “If Softbank can offer MySpace exclusively, it could be an effective differentiation strategy,” he added.

Such online services have also been gaining popularity in Japan with Mixi Inc, the country’s most popular online social network site, quintupling its users since August of last year and now claims over 5 million members.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/ygbrxp (Reuters article)
http://www.mixi.jp 

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