MTV Networks Latin America launches social networking site.

MTV Networks Latin America announced the launch of LAZONA.com, a social networking site that offers bands and music fans the opportunity to create their own personal virtual space, explore and discover new music and build a network of new and old friends through profiles, blogs, pictures and forums. LAZONA.com stands out as a unique website in Latin America by servicing users in their native language and featuring a music focus that includes profile pages specifically tailored for music bands and artists. In just a few weeks, LAZONA.com has already registered more than 10,000 bands and 12,000 music lovers.

“LaZona is the perfect initiative to fulfill our strong, long-running commitment to both the digital media segment and the discovery and cross border promotion of new Latin American musical talent,” explained Luis Goicouria, Vice President of New Media for MTV Networks Latin America. “LaZona provides a great window for bands to make their music and profiles available to a very wide and varied audience and in turn gives music lovers the chance to discover, support and interact with new artists,” added Goicouria.

LAZONA.com took off introducing the music challenge ADIOSGARAGE.com, a platform where virtual unknowns are given the opportunity to showcase their music and generate fans from across Latin America, who can vote for them to perform at an “MTV Alerta Live” event. Each month, a winner will be chosen to perform in front of thousands of fans. In the first week since its launch, ADIOSGARAGE.com, sponsored by Motorola, registered more than 500 bands from musicians across Latin America looking to spread their music and generate fan bases beyond their borders. To participate, music bands and enthusiasts can log onto www.lazona.com or www.adiosgarage.com to register their profiles and vote for their favorite new artists.