MySpace has launched a French version of its popular social-networking site, expanding into Europe with a strategy of using local-language sites to attract more users.

MySpace has been running the French version of the network for months in beta, but the site went live on Thursday, Reuters reports. The French version of MySpace is the second such site that the News. Corp property has launched; the first, in the U.K., attracts 6.9 million users a month.

MySpace's primary competition in France is likely Skyblog, which welcomed 7 million users in November, compared with MySpace's 1.3 million. So far, Skyblog has attempted to expand into England, Spain and Germany, but has not enjoyed the success it has in France. Skyblog had 13.2 million global visitors in November, compared with 82.6 for MySpace.

MySpace's German site is currently in beta, has 2.4 million monthly users, and is expected to launch within the next few weeks. MySpace also has Italian and Irish beta sites.