News Corp.'s MySpace signed a licensing deal in China to allow entrepreneurs in the country to build a custom business through its technologies, an unconventional approach the company believes will put them ahead of at least 100 other companies competing for the Chinese social networking business, reports The New York Times.

News Corp. and two venture capital firms agreed to hire a former Microsoft exec. to license MySpace and its technologies in China, the fastest growing Internet market.

With the hiring of a local manager, News Corp. hopes to learn from the mistakes of other Western players, such as eBay and Yahoo. Though these major players invest millions into Chinese startups, they have not been able to top local competitors.

The China internet market has been a tough one for companies accustomed to working in free markets, with state intervention heavily favoring local firms. Seeking favor of Communist Party officials, big U.S. media players have been tarnishing their reputations at home for kowtowing to Chinese officials and regulators - sometimes getting involved in outing political dissidents and often censoring content. While the companies often cite policies of obeying local laws, Chinese written law is actually often rather liberal. MySpace's throwing the technology to an indigenous firm may solve some of those public relations - as well as protectionist - issues, even if it does not create a moral result in the eyes of free speech, democracy and anti-torture advocates.

China's 137 million Internet users makes it second only to the U.S.