Buy a fake friend for your MySpace page

[Tux of Borg]

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3976218a28.html

 

Buy a fake friend for your MySpace page

 

In the superficial world of online social networking, popularity has become a commodity that is bought and sold.

 

FakeYourSpace.com - a companion service for MySpace, Friendster and Facebook - will from March 1 allow customers to buy attractive "friends" for displaying on their profile pages.

 

"If you are tired of seeing everyone else with the hottest friends and want some hotties of your own, then this is the place for you," reads a brief published on the company's website.

 

Customers are presented with a selection of images of scantily clad men and women, each of which front fake profile pages registered with the popular social networking sites.

 

The sales pitch reads like that of an adult escort service: "We have a wide selection of men and women of all ethnic backgrounds."

 

The profiles are crafted by FakeYourSpace founder Brant Walker and his team, using photographs sourced from modelling agencies.

 

A monthly charge of 99 US cents rents one friend, who will leave the client two comments a week. Customers are even able to choose the exact wording of those comments, which are then displayed prominently on their MySpace, Friendster or Facebook profiles.

 

Walker says this will lead others who stumble across your profile to believe you are more popular than you really are, and are friends with more attractive people.

 

A sole testimonial published on the FakeYourSpace website, written by "Lindsay from San Diego", reads: "FakeYourSpace changed my online life. I have never been so popular!"

 

The site was launched late last year but, The New York Times reported that business was halted temporarily when iStockPhoto.com, which supplied photographs of models to the service, said FakeYourSpace had failed to comply with its licensing agreement.

 

It is understood that the company's use of the photos wrongly implied the models endorsed the product.

 

The business relaunches on March 1 using pictures from new sources. In the mean time, a "free friend" is being offered to those who sign up to the FakeYourSpace mailing list.

 

Of the sites supported by FakeYourSpace, MySpace is by far the most popular among Australians.

 

According to traffic monitoring firm Hitwise, myspace.com was the sixth most popular website visited by Australians last month.

 

MySpace Australia boss Rebekah Horne did not return calls requesting comment for this story.