News Corp, owner of the recently launch iPad newspaper The Daily, has officially stared the sales process for former online social networking giant MySpace, six years after the media conglomerate acquired the website.

Bought back in 2005 for the hefty sum of $580 million (£357.6 million at today’s rate) News Corp beat rivaling bids from the likes of MTV owners Viacom Inc to take ownership of the then formidable social entertainment outlet.

The rapid rise to dominance of Facebook, however, has seen interest in MySpace dwindle with the online site having recently cut 500 jobs. It is believed that News Corp has already received around 20 enquires regarding sales and potential spin-off possibilities for the now much ignored site.

With more than half a billion dollars to recoup from the initial outlay, News Corp is facing a difficult challenge in recovering its loses whilst bitter rival Facebook is reeling from a Oscars loss of for The Social Network, a Hollywood spin-off of the story of Facebook’s founding and its mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg.

Do you still use MySpace or is Facebook the only social outlet for you? Let us know via the T3 Twitter and Facebook feeds.

Via: TFTS