MySpace takes on portals for ad revenue

MySpace has started letting brands take over its homepage in an attempt to take on Yahoo! and Microsoft’s MSN portals.

MySpace has also placed “safe havens” on its site for advertisers reluctant to place their brands on personal profile pages.

The News Corp owned site has previously based its ad business on information supplied by its users.

Speaking to the Financial Times, MySpace co-founder and chief executive Chris DeWolfe said: “We can get 50 million eyeballs on our homepage so we can compete against the portals.”

He added: “We’re not going to compete against Google and their 20,000 employees. But where we’ve made strides is against guys like MSN and Yahoo on the display and branded business.”

The economic downturn has now put pressure on other Web 2.0 firms, said DeWolfe. “They are only now being told to focus on profitability.”

MySpace: www.myspace.com