AOL is acquiringsocial networkingsite Bebo for about
£425m to build an online community of 80 million
users.
Bebo's 40 million users will be combined with AOL's AIM instant
messaging and ICQ personal communications network, said AOL.
Randy Falco, AOL chief executive, said, "Bebo is the perfect
complement to our personal communications network and puts us in a
leading position in social media."
Falco said the deal would make AOL more attractive to online
advertisers.
Analyst eMarketer predicts that by 2011, more than £2bn will be
spent worldwide on
social network advertising - a big increase from the £240m
spent in 2006.
Bebo has about 100 employees in the UK, San Francisco and
Austin, Texas.