Friendster has announced that they are relaunching in Southeast Asia, with a launch party set on April 27 in Manila, capitol of the Philippines. Complimenting the launch is a partnership with MOL Group, an e-payment platform in Asia that will allow Friendster to push virtual currency sales in various games.

“The Philippines has always been one of our biggest markets with a vibrant online community, making the country exceptionally important to us,” said Friendster chief operating officer, Nikolai Galicia. “Therefore it is a joy to roll out Friendster’s inaugural event here, to a community that is continuously growing. We are committed in continually bringing the latest content and giving the most compelling rewards to our users.”

“Friendster pioneered the social networking industry and paved the way for the emergence of other sites. As the global gaming communities grew, it was essential for Friendster to find its unique proposition in order to remain competitive,” said MOL Group chief executive officer, Ganesh Kumar Bangah. “By leveraging on Friendster’s strongest asset in the form of its millions of users and harnessing MOL’s strength as an e-payments and content distributor, we were able to successfully redesign Friendster to become a social discovery and gaming platform, host to the largest online community in Southeast Asia.”