The Pew Internet & American Life Project reported Sunday that 55% of all online American youngsters between the ages of 12 and 17 have created a profile on MySpace, Facebook, Xanga or another social networking site. That proportion is especially high for teen girls ages 15-17, with 70% of that group reporting that they have used online social networks, compared with 54% of boys between 15 and 17.

Why do teens turn to social networking sites? The vast majority--91%--say they do so to stay in contact with friends they also see frequently in the non-virtual world, while 82% say they use sites to stay in touch with people they don't see that often in person. Teens also go to the sites to make plans with friends (72%) and meet new friends (49%).

MySpace is far and away the leading social networking site with teens, with 85% of youngsters reporting that they have created profiles on the News Corp.-owned site. Seven percent used Facebook and 1% have done so Xanga, while less than 1% have created profiles on Yahoo, Piczo, Gaiaonline and Tagged.com, according to the report.

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