Newswire and financial data service Reuters is to dip another finger in Web 2.0 waters by setting up its own version of MySpace. But the Reuters site will be targeted at City traders rather than US teenagers.

"You will see us, later in the year, launch a version of MySpace for the financial services community," Reuters chief Tom Glocer told the Guardian.

Rather than lists of favourite bands, acne creams and so forth, the idea is that the stripey-shirt crowd will be able to "post their research or, if they are traders, their trading models."

American high-school kids seem very happy to generate free content for Rupert Murdoch to hang adverts on. It remains to be seen whether traders and analysts – a more financially-motivated group, after all – will be willing to do the same for Reuters shareholders. But the site's business model is not yet fully planned, and indeed it may not carry ads. Reuters wasn't yet willing to go into further detail.

However, the company is willing to make at least one bold assumption. Derivatives traders "don't want to have 100 friend requests from teenage girls", according to Glocer, an assertion many would doubt.

Reuters has been happy with its Web 2.0 initiatives thus far, with no plans to recall its permanent reporter from Second Life. It will be interesting to watch the fortunes of the new community website as it takes on more shape. ®