Google may close relationship site in Brazil

Being threatened by the Brazilian Justice system to give out information about users of its Orkut relationship site that may be involved in illegal activities in the country, Google may choose to close or limit access to the site by Brazilian users. The information was given out today by the leading Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, which admits talking to employees of the company in Mountain View, CA. These employees requested to remain anonymous, according to the newspaper.

A site similar to MySpace.com, Orkut has flourished in Brazil, having close to 16 of its 20 million users based in the country. The decision of closing access to the site still depends on the result of negotiations between the company and the Brazilian Justice system, which has requested that Google should give out information about users that may be involved in illegal activities in the country.