The site changed its name from xiaonei.com last month in order to attract a wider user base of white collar workers.

According to Beijing-based Oak Pacific Interactive (OPI) figures, the service had an estimated 40 million users who had registered their real names, making it one of the most powerful social network services in China.

OPI is the largest operator of social networking websites in China, after taking ownership of the one of the most viewed in the country, MOP.com, information technology portal Donews and xiaonei. It employs 1,200 people.

One of the reasons for xiaonei’s success, said Chen, lay in the fact that it had developed into a platform for third parties and their applications, with a special emphasis on entertainment features.

Liu Ning, from the technology sector consulting company BDA China, said: “It’s quite early for a social network service to make money in just two or three years. Most, both in and out of China, find it difficult to make a profit. It’s likely that 51.com could also break even but others, even the popular kaixin001.com, are still losing money. ”

Source : Konaxis