(4 March 2006 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Viacom is planning to get into the social networking game. Speaking to attendees at an industry event in New York, Viacom CEO Tom Freston revealed the company's plans to own a social networking portal to compete with the likes of the News Corp.-owned MySpace.com.

According to media reports, Freston did not spell out Viacom's exact plans to match its rival's success with MySpace.com. News Corp. bought out the portal last year for about $600 million.

Viacom has reportedly met with a number of online social networking firms, but so far it has released no details as to whether it will enter the market via partnerships or acquisitions.