With 945,000 users in Vietnam, the fast-growing social networking site Zing Me has surpassed its main rival Facebook in local popularity, the website’s owner said.

As of Wednesday, Facebook had about 918,000 active users in Vietnam, up from 713,000 less than a month ago and around half a million in July, according to Ho Chi Minh City-based VinaGame Software Service Company.

VinaGame’s Zing Me site is a Facebook look-alike that allows users to add friends, upload and update their personal profiles, and play games.

The similarities between the two have prompted vigorous debate in Vietnam’s online networking circles about the originality of Zing Me.

Vuong Quang Khai, deputy general director of VinaGame, admits there are no major differences between the sites as both are third-generation social networks.

However, Zing Me bills itself as more “content-centric” than the “connection-centric” Facebook.

The number of Facebook users in Vietnam has risen sharply since the popular Yahoo! 360 social network was replaced by a new Yahoo service in May.

A survey by UK-based Taylor Nelson Sofres in April found that more than 85 percent of Internet users in Vietnam’s major cities chose Yahoo for their online social activities.

Source: Tuoi Tre