The service will be launched in 15 countries and seven languages to compete better with market leader YouTube, which recently launched local sites in nine different countries.

The site will be launched in enhanced beta version and will allow users to watch clips even if they are not signed up to the social networking site. It will be powered by MySpace‘s own technology, and videos will be edited using Flektor technology, a company that News Corp bought last month.

MySpace GM video Jeff Berman said, "This is the next step in the evolution of video on MySpace. We‘ve quietly grown into the second biggest video site on the internet. Our users have been uploading video in huge numbers for the last couple of years. And this is just the tip of the iceberg."

MySpace will be on the lookout for professional, rather than simply user-generated, content. It is expected to host shorter versions of sitcoms known as minisodes, for which the site has got into a deal with Sony. Short ads will run before the professional content on the site, which will also host display advertising.

Similar deals have been patched with content partners who will have channels on the site, including National Geographic, The New York Times, Reuters, Fox‘s IGN Entertainment, Animation Show and the Daily Reel.

The site will also be part of the NBC Universal/News Corp. joint venture, which is expected to launch this summer, providing a legal online home for those networks‘ TV shows and movies.

According to comScore Media Metrix, although Youtube continues to lead the online video arena and its market share continues to grow, MySpace‘s total number of video streams has grown by 100 per cent since January.