MySpace is following in the footsteps of rival Facebook by inviting developers to build applications for the platform.

Facebook already has more than 6,000 applications running on its platform and has seen a rapid growth in users since opening up the website to third-party developers.

"The idea is to make sure the applications are safe and secure and pass a certain level of value to get on the site," said MySpace chief executive Chris DeWolfe at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

"We expect that the majority of the applications will make it onto MySpace."

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive at News Corp, which owns MySpace, described Facebook as "a utility" and said that MySpace is "not just for looking up friends".

"I would say we are different and, in spite of all the hype, we seem to be growing faster," he said.

Analyst firm comScore reported recently that Facebook had grown its audience by 179 per cent in the past six months, compared with just seven per cent for MySpace.

Nielsen//NetRatings, however, still puts MySpace well ahead of its rival with 78.6 million active users compared to Facebook's 28.1 million.

News Corp acquired MySpace for $580m in July 2005.