Social network sites 'on slide'
BYANNE CAMPBELL
![Fall: MySpace helped launch Lily Allen's career but is losing users Picture: Getty [Metro Feb22,2008]](Social_files/LILY.gif)
SOCIAL networking websites could have reached their peak, figures suggest. The number of people on sites such as Facebook and MySpace has fallen, prompting claims their popularity is on a downward spiral. MySpace saw its level of British users tumble 14 per cent between October and last month, while Beho's was down eight per cent over the same period. Facebook's user figures slid five per cent to 8.5million in January - its first fall after a year-and-a-half of consecutive rises. However, it is still Britain's most popular social networking site. Nielsen Online, the analysts who published the figures said : 'One month of falling audiences doesn't spell the decline of Facebook or social networking. However, most of the leading social networks are less popular in the UK than they were a year ago. 'It was inevitable that the early growth rates couldn't be sustained and the larger networks have been plateauing over the last few months.' - Meanwhile, MySpace could soon offer a music-selling service to rival that of Apple's iTunes. News Corp, which owns the website, is reportedly in talks with the big four record companies - Sony,Universal,Warner and EMI - about launching an online store on the site.
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