By IANS
New York : An Indian American has created a new social networking and community website specifically designed for the large Indian population in the US.
Palani Velusamy, creator of myindianplace.com, realised that the Indian community in the US, which is mostly highly educated and affluent, did not really have a central meeting place totally devoted to their culture.
"Despite the fact that there is a large Indian community in the US, there are not a lot of sites that are dedicated to the Indian community. After visiting MySpace.com, it occurred to me that a site specialising in various ethnic groups might be really beneficial," he said.
Visitors can create profiles, share pictures, socialise, and keep abreast of news that is important to the Indian community, a press release said.
"It is so great that someone has created this kind of site for Indians," said Rakesh Ahuja, a member. "I mean, just knowing that the majority of people that you are going to be meeting on the myindianplace.com site are going to be familiar with my culture means a lot to me. It is really cool and I really like it. It is my hope that word spreads quickly about this site and that Indians here in this country all use it," he said.
The motto on the website is: Be Indian. Be Proud.
"As a culture, Indians who have grown up in the states are a unique people," said Palani. "We love America, and most of us really enjoy the way of life here. However, most of us also want to keep our ties with some of the old ways and certainly want to meet other Indians in order to socialise. In some areas of the country, that can be very difficult if the Indian community is not all that large," he said.