facebook has kicked off its localised German version today. This much awaited move is expected to spur user figures in Germany very quickly and industry observers see facebook preparing for the “battle of the year” against well-established German social network StudiVZ. (btw. VZ is German Uni speak, short for Verzeichnis, meaning directory. Just in case you didn’t know.)

Just a few days ago, StudiVZ launched a line extension network for users beyond the original university students demographic, named MeinVZ (“myVZ”). As a brand family with the school kids version SchülerVZ, the Berlin-based company has about 8 or 9 Million registered users. Compared to that, facebook’s footprint here is still small. Approximately 1 Million users are registered with facebook, making it only the 5th or 6th largest social network in Germany after

1. StudiVZ/SchülerVZ (8 Million)
2. MySpace (4 Million)
3. Wer-kennt-wen.de (1,5 Million)
4. Lokalisten.de (1 Million)
5. facebook

Depending on the metrics used, this ranking may be a bit different in reality. But anyway, while facebook is the shooting star worldwide with 66 Million users, it has a long way to go in Germany to make the top. My feeling is, they will make good progress this year, especially with people like me who are much internationally networked. But the network effect will continue to work for the benefit of StudiVZ/SchülerVZ/MeinVZ – at least for a while until their users try out facebook and discover the power of applications, which StudiVZ doesn’t have (yet).