Rupert Murdoch’s wife Wendi may be on the board of MySpace China, but the way the new venture’s CEO tells it, the famously interventionist News Corp mogul will play next to no role in how it is run.

Local executives will be in full control of MySpace China’s operations, technology development and marketing, insisted CEO Luo Chuan on Thursday, ahead of the launch of a beta test version of the www.myspace.cn site.

Mr Luo says local management authority is the key to avoiding the setbacks suffered by other internet multinationals in China such as Ebay, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. While licencing MySpace’s technology and brand, the Beijing-based venture - a late entrant to a highly competitive market - will tailor its socialising service to Chinese tastes.

Since MySpace China is being coy about how big News Corp’s stake is (other investors include IDG and China Broadband Capital Partners) it is hard to know how seriously to take its talk of autonomy. Mr Luo did say MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson were alongside Wendy on the board.

But Mr Murdoch, deeply disappointed by his failure to build a significant media business in China despite years of trying, may be willing to take a hands-off approach.

"We have to make MySpace a very Chinese site," he said when he revealed MySpace’s ambitions in the country last year. "I have sent my wife across there because she understands the language."

April 26th, 2007 in China | Permalink