TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan's hugely popular online social networking site Mixi said Wednesday it planned to expand into China, whose growing number of Internet users are already being courted by Rupert Murdoch's MySpace.

Mixi Inc., which has quickly developed into a top social outlet for Japanese young people since its creation in 2004, said it would set up a subsidiary in Shanghai in April or May.

"We see China as a market that has huge potential for the Internet, including in mobile wireless Internet services," a Mixi statement said.

"In terms of the future growth of our business, overseas expansion provides an important opportunity to expand revenue," it said.

Mixi Shanghai Inc. will have initial capital of 2.7 million dollars and decide later on which services to launch in China and when.

MySpace and rival Facebook in a short time have become international phenomena linking millions of people around the world.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought MySpace in 2005 for 580 million dollars.

MySpace Inc. and other investors last year launched MySpace China which seeks to tap into a rapid increase in online activity in the country of 210 million Internet users.

A Japanese version of MySpace was also launched in 2006 in a joint venture with Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp. aimed at winning over some of Mixi's business in the Internet-savvy country.

But Mixi has continued to grow. It says it currently has 13.3 million members, up from 8.01 million a year ago.

Mixi's share price nearly doubled within a day of being listed in September 2006.

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