Social networkers worldwide

The social Web is completely global, and there's a map to illustrate at the ValleyWag blog. Some fascinating, sometimes surprising, patterns show up on this map:

Hi5.com is the most international, with a presence in 15 countries, especially Peru, Colombia, Central America, Tunisia, Romania, and Mongolia. A bit more on Hi5 from the Gigaom blog: It "started out as a social-network-plus matrimonial site targeting the Indian diaspora, but later morphed into a social network" that now has about 30 million members.

"Facebook," the map says, "is stronger, internationally, than Myspace, with surprising strongholds in the Middle East."

Bebo and Skyblog "follow colonial patterns," Bebo British and Skyblog French, with strongholds in France, Belgium, and Francophone Africa.

Friendster's huge in Southeast Asia

"Fotolog, a photo service defeated in the US by Friendster, has re-emerged as the dominant social network in Argentina and Chile."

Google's Orkut is big in India, Pakistan, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Studiverzeichnis is popular in Germany and Austria.

LiveJournal's hot in Belarus and Russia.