Tencent Inc, a company purportedly responsible for the largest IM service in China, has launched QQ Xiaoyou, a network currently allowing invited QQ users for testing ahead of a broader public launch, according to Tangos of China Web 2.0 Review. Amit Chowdry of Pulse 2.0 translates the network’s meaning as equatable to “Alumni.”

Founded in 1998, Tencent has grown its QQ-branded network of services, including QQ.com, QQ Instant Messenger, QQ Mail, QQ show, QQ Pet, QQ Game, and QQ Music/Radio/Live into one catering to a claimed user base hundreds of millions strong. A strong emphasis on claimed, there, due to the fact that China’s collective Web usership falls far short of Tencent’s hugely irregular 783.4 million touted users (for its IM network alone). China only recently surpassed the US in total Internet users, landing somewhere in the mid-200m territory. Given that Web giants Microsoft and Yahoo each cater to user counts somewhere north of 250 million each, Tencent’s claims are heavily suspect.

Nonetheless, QQ Xiaoyou appears to be an active property upon first glance. China Web 2.0 Review says the site, like all other Tencent properties, follows the strict requirements of Internet monitors in the country, with Xiaoyou mandating users register real names and photos, per China’s governing party’s request for greater Web user transparency. If the vetting process is as thorough as is alleged, those registrees will be put through an authentication process that takes up to three days’ time.

If QQ Xiaoyou is to be a serious entry in the market - “QQ Campus,” a previous attempt, is said to have performed poorly relative to competitors - it will be aiming at Xiaonei, a social network that serves university students with 15 million users, according to BeijingReview.com, a national weekly magazine. QQ Xiaoyou, though its color palette is unlike Facebook’s, could perhaps be seen as taking cues from the well-regarded US-based website, much as Xiaonei has shown to do.

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