Since 2008, the majority of Friendster's employees have been located in the region, and at least 80 per cent of Friendster's new staff in 2009 will be based in Asia, the company said.

"The expansion of our team, offices and sales partnerships in Asia not only sets 2009 up to be an exciting year, but helps us pursue the necessary monetisation opportunities available to Friendster in our core Asian markets," said Richard Kimber, CEO of Friendster. "As we move deeper into 2009, we will continue to build upon our direct sales, product, engineering, operations, marketing and finance teams to execute on our strategy and unwavering focus on the Asia Pacific."

New offices

As part of its growth strategy, the social network has opened up new offices in Singapore and Sydney, Australia.

In the IT firm's Sydney office is where Kimber is based, along with new members of Friendster's marketing, sales and business development teams. The new Singapore office will also host sales, marketing and business development teams, the company said.