'Hookers flock to Facebook to lure customers'

New York, Feb 28: A sociologist in the US has revealed that the number of hookers advertising their services on social networking site Facebook is on the rise.

Columbia University sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh studied the habits of 290 sex workers in New York and found that 83 percent rely on Facebook to lure customers.

"I estimate that by the end of 2011, Facebook will be the leading online recruitment space," the New York Daily News quoted Venkatesh as writing in the Feb issue of Wired magazine.

Even a quick search of the uber-popular social networking site reveals a trove of sex-charged profiles.

"I'm a full Gfe [girlfriend experience] provider. For a list of my services go to my website," writes 'Molly Ravish' on her page, which features a picture of a young blond woman in lingerie.

Ravish's personal Web page offers titillating photos and a detailed description of her services: 200 dollars for an hour of passion, including "deep French kissing" and oral sex - and 150 dollars for 30 minutes.

"Succulent, sweet, and dripping with charm, I beleive [sic] you will find me to be seductive, sensuous, and enticing," her website states.

Other pages owned by local sex workers are less risque - but just as easy to find.

Venkatesh says Facebook allows hookers to "control their image, set their prices, and sidestep some of the pimps, madams, and other intermediaries who once took a share of the revenue".

In 2008, Facebook accounted for 25 percent of the regular clients served by the women Venkatesh followed.

Top NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the findings aren't too surprising. "Everybody is using the Internet," he said.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said that the site comes down hard on anyone who uses it for illegal ends.

PTI