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The appointment would ensure that Bebo, the second biggest social network in the UK, is prepared in the event of a substantial offer for the business emerging, according to a report in The Times.

Although the report claims there is no talk of an immediate sale, the influential blog Techcrunch.com has speculated that Bebo has already begun discussions with a number of potential buyers. It rumours that a bid could be worth around $1bn.

Both reports named Viacom, Google and CBS as potential buyers.

Microsoft, currently in a battle to buy Yahoo! following a $42bn bid, was also named as a potential bidder.

Bebo is the second most popular social networking site in the UK behind Facebook. According to Comscore figures from December last year, Bebo had 11.2m unique users in the UK compared to Facebook's 12.5m.

Bebo is owned by its San Francisco-based founders Michael and Xochi Birch. Balderton Capital also holds a stake, believed to be around 20%.

Bebo was contacted about the takeover speculation but declined to comment.