Bebo Launches Latino Site

Bebo has launched a Latino site.

AOL People Networks announced the new site Monday, saying it continues Bebo's expansion into new markets. The social networking site claims more than 22 million unique visitors from the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Poland, and other countries.

"Expanding into new markets is a key pillar of our growth strategy, and we see huge potential for the growing Latino audience in the U.S.," Nicole Vanderbilt, VP international at Bebo, said in a statement released Monday. "Our platform allows users to connect with other users, entertainment and brands, both globally and locally. The richness of our experience lies in the user's ability to express him- or herself -- as evidenced in our new Lifestory feature -- and in the ability to connect to people, media, and brands through the Lifestream and our Open Media Platform."

Bebo said it has added several channels of entertainment content from major brands and emerging media companies to coincide with the launch of Bebo Latino. Hearst Magazines Digital Media and AOL Latino will be incorporated into Bebo's Open Media platform. AOL Latino will provide music and entertainment, while Hearst Magazines Digital Media will provide video, photo galleries, polls, quizzes, surveys, and other interactive content from MisQuinceMag.com.

Bebo's "Share on Bebo" button for publisher sites makes it simple to implement and create a two-way conversation between the publisher and the Bebo platform. When a user shares his favorite media content, a status update will appear in the user's "sayings" and in his "Lifestream," virally spreading the news to his entire network and driving traffic back to the media owner or publisher.

MySpace Latino launched last April.