Facebook says hola to Spanish amigos

Posted on ZDNet News: Feb 7, 2008 4:48:00 PM

Facebook has introduced a version of the site for Spanish-language speakers, the first of several languages beyond English the social network site plans to offer, the company said on Thursday.

The online social-network phenomenon, which has enjoyed explosive international growth over the past nine months despite remaining an English-only site, said it will introduce German- and French-language versions within weeks. Sixty percent of Facebook's roughly 64 million users live outside of the United States. More than 2.8 million active users live in Latin America or Spain, the company said.

Facebook users can choose to view the site in Spanish by changing their account settings. Starting Monday, Facebook users who sign on to the Web from Spanish-speaking countries will automatically be directed to Facebook en espanol.

Story Copyright  © 2008 Reuters Limited.  All rights reserved.

©2007 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. CNET , CNET.com , and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CNET Networks, Inc. Used by permission.

Story Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.