• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, April 24, 2009

Effective immediately, News Corp. on Friday announced the appointment of former Facebook executive Owen Van Natta as the new CEO of MySpace. 

Van Natta replaces MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, who is stepping down, which was announced Wednesday. DeWolfe will remain on the board of MySpace China, and will be a strategic adviser to the company.

Van Natta will report to Jonathan Miller, who became News Corp.'s CEO of digital media and chief digital officer April 1.

Van Natta most recently served as the CEO of online music company Playlist, Inc. Prior to that, he served as chief revenue officer and vice president of operations for Facebook, which has rapidly overtaken MySpace as the predominant social network online.

Before leaving Facebook in early 2008, Van Natta is credited with helping to negotiate its $240 million investment from Microsoft.

At MySpace, Van Natta said he will be focused on "an incredibly exciting and rewarding next chapter for the business." Based in Los Angeles, Van Natta reports directly to Jonathan Miller, News Corp.'s CEO of digital media and chief digital officer.

"I plan to work closely with Owen to shape our long-term vision," said Miller.

Last month, MySpace chief operating officer Amit Kapur announced his plans to exit the company with two other senior executives to start a new venture.

To date, Facebook has roughly 200 million users, compared with MySpace's 130 million, according to comScore.

Prior to Facebook, Van Natta served as vice president of worldwide business and corporate development for Amazon.com. In that role, he managed global marketing programs and strategic partnerships, and was also part of the founding team of A9.com, the Amazon.com search company, and was responsible for site operations and sponsored-link advertising.

MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson is also in talks about taking a new role, Miller said previously. Friday's announcement did not mention Anderson.