Social networking website Bebo has announced the launch of five new European-language versions, its first major expansion outside the English-speaking world.
Owned by America Online, Bebo claims to have more than 22 million users worldwide, almost half of them in Britain.
Until now Bebo was available only in English and in Polish, compared with the 40 language versions offered by market leader Facebook.
From today users will also be able to choose French, German, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.
'International expansion is a key part of our growth strategy,' Bebo's international vice president Nicole Vanderbildt told the AFP news agency.
Social networking has exploded into the mainstream, with industry research suggesting more people logged on to membership community websites than e-mail services in December.
Worldwide, more than 240 million people used a social networking service in December, according to figures from Nielsen online.
