MySpace pointing virtual friends to real-world fun

MySpace launched an "Events" feature on Thursday that lets members of the online community better connect with real-world fun such as concerts, comedy shows, and sports matches.

The music-oriented social network is tapping into the interests and talents of its users to provide calendars of "pop culture" events and then streamline ways to buy tickets to attend.

"Our users already post millions of events to MySpace each year and the events platform is the next step in enabling them to discover, create, and socialize around the events that are most relevant to them," MySpace co-president Jason Hirschhorn said in a release.

While eclipsed by Facebook as an online social network, News Corp.-owned MySpace boasts being among the highest trafficked music websites.

The events calendar feature incorporates technology from iLike, a popular online music service MySpace bought last year in a deal reported to be valued at 20 million dollars.

The Events feature lets MySpace members buy concert tickets through profile pages of artists. MySpace will also sell specially formatted ads to be displayed in calendar pages.

"Ultimately our goal is to create a destination that allows users to manage their entire social calendar online," said MySpace director of events and ticketing Marcus Womack.

"Also, we're providing artists with advanced tools to help connect with fans and promote their shows while conversely enabling fans to quickly and easily discover, share and purchase tickets to those shows."

MySpace claims to have the largest database of concerts, events, and performances.