Bebo expands into Europe

Popular teen and young adult social-networking site Bebo has expanded its reach to include native-language sites for France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

In addition to translated sites for these countries, Bebo already has local sites for Ireland, the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Poland.

While Facebook currently appears to be the fastest growing of social-networking sites, Bebo already pulls in over 22 million unique visitors worldwide.

Recently, the AOL-owned Bebo added RSS functionality to its site, so members can pull in social media from other sites such as YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace with Bebo Lifestream and its Open Media Platform.

“The proven success of our platform in the UK and Ireland positions us well to expand into these dynamic continental European markets,” said Nicole Vanderbilt, VP International, Bebo.

“The social-networking audience is growing rapidly, and our new sites will allow local 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,” Vanderbilt explained.”

Bebo has also recently added new media partners in the form of AlloCiné, RTL’s Clipfish, Telecom Italia owned Yalp!, Diagonal View and Preview Networks’ Filmtrailer, so plenty of TV and cinema entertainment news and clips in Italian, French and other languages will be available for new users.