Facebook, the rapidly growing social networking website, is considering Ireland as the location for its European hub. Executives from the company have met providers of business and technology services in Ireland in recent weeks.
It is still not clear whether Facebook will simply locate computer infrastructure here or establish a European headquarters in the Republic that would involve significantly more employment.
Executives from the company, which was the internet phenomenon of 2007, have indicated that Ireland is one of two locations it is considering in Europe.
If Facebook proceeds with the investment, it will be a major feather in the cap for the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Ireland. With electronics manufacturing moving to low-cost locations, the IDA has courted the new wave of internet companies to establish bases here.
The State development agency's most high-profile successes include Google (which now employs about 1,500 in Dublin), online auction site ebay (which has 1,200 staff in Blanchardstown), and electronic retailer Amazon (which last year established a support operation in Cork which will ultimately employ 450 staff).
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin is believed to have met Facebook executives when he visited California last October on an IDA trip.
The social networking site, which allows members to track their friends' activities and keep in touch, has made no secret of its plans to expand internationally. The company has said it will launch versions of the site in languages other than English in the next three months.
The track record of the Republic as a centre for localisation - the translation of software for the language and cultural norms of different markets - may enhance Ireland's attractiveness as a base.
Facebook has 61 million users and, following a recent investment by Microsoft, has been valued at $15 billion (€10.22 billion). It was founded by 23-year-old Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard University in February 2004 and has expanded rapidly since. Over half the users of the site are now located outside the US and, in Ireland, it has just less than 190,000 users.
According to internet traffic monitoring company ComScore, Facebook was the 17th most popular website in the US in December 2007, having overtaken MySpace, the networking site owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. In Europe, Facebook lags behind MySpace and Bebo in terms of usage.
US presidential hopefuls have also been using the site to rally support, particularly among younger voters.
A spokeswoman for IDA Ireland would not confirm or deny if it was in negotiations with Facebook. "For reasons of confidentiality, we could never comment on any negotiations we might be carrying out with a client company," the spokeswoman said.
A Facebook spokesman said the company only has one office outside the US, a sales office in London which opened in October. The company doesn't "have any other plans to discuss".
It was reported yesterday that three successful German internet entrepreneurs, the Samwer brothers, have invested in Facebook and will assist it in its European expansion. No financial details were disclosed.