New social networking website launched in Spain

SALAMANCA, SPAIN: Two students from Spain's University of Salamanca have developed a new social networking website with the aim of promoting the city's rich cultural heritage, and also to help in small businesses and job placements.

Colombian Camilo Castaneda and Leopoldo Garcia of Mexico launched the new social network website along with Salamanca tourism councillor Julio Lopez Revuelta.

The new website would promote the brand "Salamanca Ciudad del Espanol" (Salamanca, the city of Spanish) on the web, Lopez said.

Castaneda said the network later intends to "broaden its offerings to small business, job placement and collaboration with student associations to create academic and artistic projects".

The city's profile on Facebook exceeds 1,050 members, and a video on YouTube has received more than 44,100 downloads, and the new website has had about 60,000 visits.

The students call their creation "Erasbook", in connection to the European Union's Erasmus academic exchange programme that brought them to the university.

The initiative is part of an effort to position Salamanca as the "first option" among the second tier of Spanish university cities, among which also figure Santiago de Compostela, Cordoba and Granada.

More than 1,300 students select Salamanca each year.