Invites-only system working

The best way to make people want to attend a party is tomake it invitation-only, and initial signs suggest this philosophy could beworking for Google’s latest foray into social networking, Google+.

Just a few weeks since its launch, Google+ has attractedover 10 million people to join, a number which could double by the weekend,according to one analyst. It’s not Facebook’s estimated 750 million, but it’s astart.

Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen calculated his estimate of10 million users - which he posted to his own Google+ page - by comparing theregularity of certain surnames with data from the US census.

Ironically for a site with over 10 million users, the keydriver towards Google+ could be its restricted access. People can only join thesite if they are invited by other users.

 A fake Facebook appoffering direct access to Google+ has gathered steam, attracting over 3000 ‘likes’in 24 hours. Of course, it doesn’t offer direct access to the site, but merelysends itself to 50 of the user’s friends.

An Israeli developer has also released an app which allowsusers to view their Facebook streams from inside Google+.

After numerous failed attempts, it seems Google may finally havea shot at challenging Facebook’s dominance of the social networking scene.