MySpace Says 'Bienvenidos A Latinos,' Launches MySpace Latino

MySpace Latino is out of beta.

MySpace officially launched a bilingual community to serve more than 9.7 million Hispanic members, beginning Tuesday. The world's most popular social networking site unveiled eight new communities focused on entertainment, fashion and celebrity, music, nightlife, soccer, events, and news.

Hispanic and mainstream groups and media outlets, including the Spanish Broadcasting System, the Spanish version of Billboard, and Gibson Guitars, McDonald's, impreMedia, and Sprint Nextel, have partnered with MySpace to deliver content and promote activities.

MySpace Latino, which launched in beta last year, will host a special "Shows Secretos" to officially kick off the new service. The show will feature performances by musical artists Tego Calderon, Circo, and Locos por Juana. It will also present a secret appearance at Studio A in Downtown Miami, April 11. Admission will be free for MySpace users who present their printed profiles.

MySpace Secret Shows notify MySpace users about free local concerts. Since launching in February 2006, the franchise has hosted almost 100 concerts, including Cafe Tacuba, Ozomatli, Paul DeAnda, Los Bunkers, Los Amigos Invisibles, Maroon 5, The Bravery, Gnarls Barkley, The Killers, and James Blunt.

Victor Kong, VP and managing director of MySpace Latino, said the service offers content that's relevant to Latinos living in the United States.

"Thanks to our strategic media and content partners, MySpace Latino will showcase the sports, entertainment, and video content that our users are most passionate about, while creating a truly U.S. Latino bilingual hub for our users online," he said in a news announcement.

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States. Last year, Jupiter Research said Hispanic online shoppers would spend $12.8 billion on retail products, accounting for 11% of all online retail spending.

MySpace isn't the first social networking site to try to appeal to Hispanics. Two months ago, Facebook announced a Spanish-language version of its site.