MySpace commissioned independent firm Marketing Evolution to prove it is a new type of platform that works for brands, according to GigaOM.

The report proclaims that "friending is the next advertising," and that 40 percent of social network users claim to have discovered brands and products they like through the brand's MySpace profiles - which contrasts an eMarketer study that concluded that [a brand] maintaining a social network profile is less effective in '07.

The report looks at two campaigns in particular, in which Adidas and EA created communities, made their brands into a persona, had a viral component and that gave "the consumer a chance to realize their dream/fantasy."

For each MySpace user who said he intended to buy the company's product, Adidas and EA spent $1.87 and $1.19 respectively

But based on the viral nature of these projects, Marketing Evolution says the companies reached far more people. For example, the report says though Adidas directly influenced 1.2 million people, those people went on to influence another 4.2 million more people.