Friendster Launches the Friendster Loop Calling Card
April 22 2009 - 4:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Low International Calling Rates for Friends and Family Worldwide
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Friendster, Inc., a
top 20 global Web site based on traffic* and the #1 social network
in Asia, today announced the launch of The Friendster Loop, a
pre-paid calling card with low, competitive rates, ideal for making
international calls conveniently to over 220 countries. The
Friendster Loop calling card is available immediately for use by
anyone, including Friendster's tens of millions of active users and
Internet users around the globe. Users can register for The
Friendster Loop at http://www.friendsterloop.com/. (Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/SF03636) "Since
pioneering online social networking six years ago, communicating
and keeping in touch with family and friends has been at the core
of Friendster's online user experience," said David Jones, vice
president of global marketing at Friendster. "Now, social
networking via Friendster is no longer limited to online
communications. The Friendster Loop offers users the ability to
connect with friends and family with the benefit of live,
voice-based conversations. Connectivity online has now been
expanded to include the warmth and emotion of the engaging human
voice of someone you care about." Currently, 80 percent of
Friendster's tens of millions of active users have connections with
friends or family in more than one country, more than 70 percent of
Friendster's active users place international phone calls, and more
than 45 percent have purchased a calling card. "The Friendster Loop
was launched due to consumer demand for even more communications
offerings from the Friendster brand our members adore and embrace.
While The Friendster Loop will take advantage of the projected $10
billion international prepaid calling card market in 2010, we're
also evaluating a number of additional communications-related
business opportunities," said Jones. With The Friendster Loop,
calls can be made to friends and family in any country worldwide,
making staying in touch with friends and family overseas simple and
convenient. The Friendster Loop calling card will initially be
marketed and available in seven countries, including the United
States, United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Singapore, with additional countries being added soon.
Current rates between any two countries are available at:
http://www.friendsterloop.com/rates. To use The Friendster Loop,
users register through The Friendster Loop Web site
(http://www.friendsterloop.com/) and choose a 10-digit PIN and
4-digit security code. Then, when they want to make a call, they
dial the toll-free access number for the country they are in, enter
both their 10-digit PIN and 4-digit security code, and dial the
telephone number of the person they are trying to reach. The
Friendster Loop calling card prepaid balance can be loaded with a
credit card, and recharged by the user when needed or through a
user-specified, prearranged auto-recharge when the balance drops
below a specified amount. Friendster users can purchase The
Friendster Loop card for themselves or as a gift for a friend or a
family member. Additional payment options will be available in the
coming months. The Friendster Loop service is provided under a
strategic partnership with IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT; IDT.C), a
leading provider of international telecommunications services
including pre-paid and rechargeable calling cards, consumer local,
long distance and wholesale carrier services. Friendster users are
encouraged to become a fan of The Friendster Loop calling card
community by visiting The Friendster Loop Fan Profile:
http://www.friendster.com/thefriendsterloop. The Fan Profile
contains 14 promotional profile skins allowing users to easily
decorate their Friendster profiles and tell their friends about The
Friendster Loop. Fans of The Friendster Loop will be the first to
learn about special offers and promotions surrounding the calling
card. Friendster Leads in Asia Friendster is the #1 social network
in Asia, with more than 75 million registered users. Plus, Asia is
the largest market of Internet users (Asia has 41 percent of the
world's Internet users, more than double the 19 percent from the
U.S.), and Asia is the fastest-growing region in the world.*
Friendster has a loyal and growing user base throughout Asia in the
following top 10 countries: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India,
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and South
Korea. About Friendster With more than 100 million members
worldwide, Friendster is a leading global online social network.
Friendster is focused on helping people stay in touch with friends
and discover new people and things that are important to them.
Online adults, 18 and up, choose Friendster to connect with
friends, family, school, social groups, activities and interests.
Friendster prides itself in delivering an easy-to-use, friendly and
interactive environment where users can easily connect with anyone
around the world via http://www.friendster.com/ or m.friendster.com
from any Internet-ready mobile device. Friendster has a growing
portfolio of patents granted to the company on social networking,
with more expected over the next several months. Headquartered in
Mountain View, California, Friendster is backed by Kleiner Perkins
Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, IDG Ventures
and individual investors. For more information, visit:
http://www.friendster.com/. *comScore Media Metrix, Worldwide Data,
January 2009 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/SF03636
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090422/SF03636 DATASOURCE:
Friendster, Inc. CONTACT: Lerin O'Neill of The Hoffman Agency,
+1-408-975-3037, cell, +1-408-832-7083, , for Friendster, Inc. Web
Site: http://www.friendster.com/
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