MySpace will be given a Facebooklift next week – a move seen by many as News Corps’ latest attempt to force the social networking website to earn its keep.

Tons of changes will be made to the site in the coming months in what Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has described as the largest scale re-launch of a website of its size.

It said next Wednesday (18 June) is the big day when saddos users will be greeted with a new homepage, profile editing, navigation, search and MySpace TV player facilities to fiddle with.

"This is more than a facelift; we're changing the way people interact with the site and with brands," said the company.

News Corp, which bought MySpace for $580m in 2005, said it hoped the revamp will help it attract a wider demographic because it no longer wants to be saddled with the Web 2.0-shattering perception that the site is only for teens and young adults.

It added that it has inked a deal with a major advertiser to take over the US MySpace homepage on the first day of the relaunch.

Last month News Corp admitted that MySpace had missed its financial targets. The site will fall short of its annual revenue target of $1bn by 10 per cent, while third quarter revs dropped to $210m from $233m in the preceding three months.

Meanwhile, MySpace’s rival Facebook is also undergoing a redesign. ®

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