MySpace the popular social networking site expected to be sold within 2 days

The News Corp is expected to sell the Most troubled social media site Myspace in the next two days, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Two front runners have emerged in the auction process: online ad company Specific Media and private equity firm Golden Gate Capital, the source said.

A representative for Specific Media could not be reached for comment. Golden Gate Capital declined to comment.

The deal is likely to be a mix of cash and stock for less than $100 million.
While Specific Media and Golden Gate Capital are close contenders, other bidders are involved in the process including Myspace co-founder Chris DeWolfe in a partnership with Austin Ventures; Criterion Capital Partners, which bought social media site Bebo from AOL; and Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Officer Bobby Kotick, according to the source.

Additionally, more than 50 percent of Myspace's 500-strong workforce is expected to be laid off because of the sale.
The deal is expected to be sealed on the heels of the Sun Valley conference, the annual gathering at an Idaho resort of media and technology moguls, as well as a host of other U.S. and international luminaries.

News Corp paid $580 million in 2005 for Myspace -- once a pioneer of the social networking space -- but soon lost ground to Facebook, now the world's No. 1 social networking site.
Last year, News Corp relaunched Myspace as a social entertainment site with a focus on music, movies and celebrities.

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A female Joanne Fraill Juror in Facebook contempt prosecution after 'contacting defendant during trial'

juror will stand trial this week accused of contempt of court after she allegedly sent messages to a defendant through Facebook, causing a multi-million pound drug trial to collapse.

In a British legal first, Joanne Fraill, 40, will be prosecuted for allegedly exchanging messages on the social networking site with Jamie Sewart, one of the defendants she had been trying.

Prosecutors will claim Mrs Fraill allegedly chatted online to Mrs Sewart, who had been acquitted in the case, while verdicts on other trials were still being discussed.
Mrs Sewart, 34, also faces contempt proceedings because she is alleged to have asked Mrs Fraill, of Blackley, Manchester, for details of the jury's deliberations.

Mrs Frail, who denies the charges, is also accused of using the internet to research the case against the judge’s orders. The pair could face jail if found guilty.
Dominic Grieve, the Attorney-General who will open the case at the High Court on Tuesday, will argue their actions cause a major drugs trial to collapse, leaving taxpayers facing a bill of more than £6million.

The first juror to be prosecuted for contempt of court for using the internet has been jailed for eight months, after her online activities led to a retrial in a multi-million pound drugs case.

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