SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 11/10/09 -- XIHA Life (www.xihalife.com), the world's first truly multilingual and multicultural social network, today surpassed the milestone of half a million users. XIHA users live in over 200 countries, with no country accounting for more than about five percent of total traffic. These global users can select to experience XIHA Life in nearly any language, each selection being filtered and recognized by XIHA, allowing simultaneous cross-cultural communication. By bringing together this global community, XIHA Life creates a truly multinational dialog on the Internet.

The brainchild of a Finnish-Chinese couple now dividing their time between Switzerland and the US, XIHA Life was launched in 2007 as a way for them to connect with expat friends around the globe. The social network caught on rapidly, gaining a thousand new members a day, with much of its growth coming among the 37 million immigrants living in the U.S. XIHA Life users can read and write in multiple languages, allowing them to connect anywhere in the world in the preferred language of their family, friends, and colleagues.

"Facilitating multilingual networking enables our community to comfortably communicate across time zones and cultures. Our users often start out connecting with existing friends, and soon find themselves reaching over language barriers to like-minded people throughout the world," explained Jani Penttinen, CEO and co-founder of XIHA Life. "We are aiming for a rich multi-cultural experience that connects the world in a meaningful way."

XIHA Life's global audience can explore an eclectic variety of music and access info about international musicians. Another strong draw to the site is XIHA Life's initiative to reward contributions to the site with XIHA coins, which can be used to buy fun products in the digital content store such as casual games and music. The digital store allows monetizing the social network in a sustainable way, providing user relevant options without obtrusive advertising.

About XIHA Life

XIHA Life (www.xihalife.com) brings people of the world together in the first truly multilingual social network. Users select as many languages as they want, and XIHA recognizes and filters the languages, allowing simultaneous cross-cultural communication. Users create blogs and homepages, try to buy games, and link to other social media. Features such as XIHA Music give users an easy way to learn about other cultures. XIHA users live in over 200 countries, with no country accounting for more than about five percent of total traffic. XIHA is based in Sunnyvale, California, Switzerland and Finland. http://www.xihalife.com

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