I couldn't find an open copy of this article ... and you can get the "news" aspect of this through many sources, but I found this particular excerpt rather amusing:

Sassa and the brain trust are hoping that Friendster will emerge as a powerful peer-to-peer tool that allows people not only to connect socially but also to experience (and pay for) something more, something great, something ... well, they're not really sure yet.

"We may not know exactly what the business model is," Sassa admits, "but the notion of having like-minded people provide you with a trusted referral is a really powerful marketing concept."

http://www.nonstick.com/wsounds/daffyeah.wav

and

http://members.fortunecity.com/fatzutroy/smibur.htm (download spruce.wav)

come to mind.