Who said SNS sites weren't BIG business...$$$

As people have seen the coming and going of different SNS internet and mobile phone communities across the globe, one particular SNS site with its origins in Japan definitely rebuffs those who believe that mobile phone SNS companies dont have a strong business model leg to stand on....

Japan's second largest social network GREE, launched in 2004, recently listed its IPO shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Mothers market for start-ups. GREE caused a stir on the IPO market with shares rising from $37 to $56 on the first trading day and instantly made GREE the No. 4 player among Japan's listed web companies, only trailing Yahoo Japan, Rakuten and DeNA (Mobage-town creator)....not bad for a day's work!

GREE began operations on the fixed Internet before Japanese users started to move over to competitor Mixi. Today, GREE Mobile has 7 million registered users. And 99% of its 8 billion monthly page views are generated through mobile phones. These 8 billion monthly page views are essentially generated by a mix of social networking and a gaming platform where users are represented through avatars and can buy virtual items on the site, such as food used in GREE's virtual pet games and clothes for avatars.

Well, the team at GREE are definitely onto something.....and the market of keitai consumers and investors certainly agree with them.

Australian Chris