Myspace and Facebook users who want to increase their ‘online popularity’ will soon have the opportunity to purchase friends from Fakeyourspace.com.

The site, which will begin its promotion on March 1, charges 99 cents per cyber friend of the user’s choosing.

The ‘friendship’ will last for a month, and during that time, the friend will leave the user a total of eight public comments.

Tyler Pleasants, a freshman in religious studies, said he would not pay for Facebook friends. “That’s ridiculous,” he said. “You’re friends with fake people. What is so great about that? I’d much rather my actual friends write on my wall and leave me messages.”

Fakeyourspace, which claims 99 cents is a ‘small price to pay for online popularity,’ suggests using the cyber friends to rouse jealousy from ex-girlfriends and boyfriends, or to create the appearance that the user is dating a model. Leanne Penry, a freshman in First Year College, said it would be easy to distinguish the fake friends from real students when looking at Myspace and Facebook profiles.

Penry, who began using Myspace in high school and Facebook in college, said she does not put emphasis on the number of her online friendships.

“I’m friends with whoever,” she said.

While she said she would not pay to use Fakeyourspace, others would.

“There are some people I know who would do that,” she said. However, Pleasants said the service, which he called “dumb,” will not be popular.

“I really don’t think anyone would use it — it’s a waste of their time and money,” he said.

Jackie Jazwa, a sophomore in biological sciences, said buying friends is not frugal.

“I can’t say I know anyone that would [use the site],” she said. “I would not pay 99 cents for a fake friend.”

Jazwa, a user of both Myspace and Facebook, said the sites are time consuming.

“You can be friends with people in person,” she said. “You don’t have to know everything online.”

Pleasants said Facebook and Myspace friends are not indicators of popularity.

“I have so many friends on Facebook I don’t even talk to,” he said.

Pleasants said it would be funny if the site allowed users to pay for the services for friends without their knowledge.