L.A. TIMES -- Apr 1 -- While MySpace may continue to dominate in North America (50% are from USA), Friendster, Google's Orkut and others are thriving overseas. In the Philippines, Friendster is used by an ~87% of the country's 8 million Internet users. ~70% of Friendster's 40-million-person user base comes from Southeast Asia. With Orkut and its servers under the jurisdiction of American law, (it's popular in Brazil and India) the question of whom it must answer to overseas is an area heavy with legal concerns and complications. ~55% of Orkut's 47 million users come from Brazil. Only 19% of traffic comes from the USA. FULL ARTICLE @ LA TIMES Mark Brooks: The seeding phase of any social network or community is critical for it's future focus and success. Craigslist started with a few of Craigs friends and remained true to San Francisco for several years before branching out to other countries. Friendster started with a few of Founder Jonathan Abram's friends in Silicon Valley. MySpace and Bebo were seeded more systematically, and quickly, from eUniverse communities and the likes of BirthdayAlarm.com.