Friends Reunited, the popular UK website that enables users to track down their old school friends, is planning to expand into Europe and South Africa.

The first sites will launch as franchises in Spain, France, Holland and South Africa and will use the same design as the UK site.

Whoever takes up a franchise will be able to use the Friends Reunited name and technology in return for a share of the subscription and advertising revenue.

Despite the odd hiccup, the site has been an unqualified success since it went live in the UK almost two years ago.

Friends Reunited, which is run by husband and wife Steve and Julie Pankhurst, has more than 6.2 million registered users.

It garnered acres of press coverage as features editors realised its potential for generating human interest stories.

The dotcom has spawned a rash of imitators - including a website aimed at ex-convicts - but none has been able to attract anywhere near as many users as the original.

Although the US market is dominated by Classmates.com, the site that inspired Friends Reunited, there remains plenty of room for international growth.

Mr Pankhurst has refused to reveal how many of the 6.2 million registered users have stumped up the £5 subscription fee that enables them to contact other people on the site.

However, the service has been profitable from day one.

The site made the headlines recently when a teacher successfully sued a former pupil who made disparaging allegations about him on a Friends Reunited message board.

Over the past year the dotcom has introduced additional services that allow users to contact their former work colleagues and even arrange dates.

In an effort to cash in on World Cup fever, the site has also launched a fantasy football game called Svens Reunited.