Who doesn’t love a good rumor? There’s quite a bit of buzz this morning about the supposed acquisition of Chinese social networking site, Zhanzuo.com, by Facebook. The rumor was featured in an article by The Times entitled, “Facebook’s hopes to enter the tangled web of China gain momentum“.

Facebook appears to have decided on acquisition as its preferred method of entering the booming Chinese market, after months of speculation about how the social networking website would tap the country’s rapid growth and avoid the pitfalls that have slowed earlier overseas venturers.

Facebook is reported to have offered $85 million (£41 million) to buy Zhanzuo.com, its largest Chinese counterpart, which has an estimated seven million active users and a popular base among students.

It would give Facebook a ready-made entry point to the largest internet market outside the United States.

Facebook has dismissed this assumption, but just for fun, here are a few articles spreading (and dismissing) the rumored deal:

Y “Facebook Offers $85 Million To Acquire Chinese Social Networking Site Zhanzuo.com (courtesy of TechCrunch)”
Y “Rumor: Facebook to Acquire Chinese Social Networking Site for $85 Million (courtesy of Wired)”
N “Facebook denies desires to buy Chinese social network (courtesy of Webware)”

So, we’ll see what happens next – one can never tell how such rumored deals can go.