Mail.Ru Group, the largest Internet company in the Russian-speaking world, is pleased to announce a partnership with Groupon, the fastest growing social buying network.

The first stage of the partnership will involve the launch of a joint service between Odnoklassniki social network and Groupon. Odnoklassniki audience is granted access to Groupon’s most advantageous and discounted offers to purchase various goods and services. Odnoklassniki users can now choose and purchase services, provided by Groupon, without leaving the social network website. The service includes features enabling users to follow friends' actions, invite friends to take “liked” offers and make one-click purchases. The joint service is the first project of its kind worldwide: no other social network has ever before realized incentives of this scale in the field of social commerce.  

Ilya Shirokov, VP of Mail.Ru Group and the Head of Odnoklassniki said:

“This joint service signals the beginning of Mail.Ru Group’s enhanced collaboration with Groupon which is further expected to embrace Mail.ru Group's other projects. Buying discount vouchers on the internet is a growing trend and we continue to deliver value to our customers by getting involved in the newest global trends. Our cooperation with Groupon makes Odnoklassniki the first social network in the world to offer its members the full scope of the significant discounts that social commerce offers. Thus, our audience will have the ability to use their social graph more effectively".

Elena Masolova, the co-founder of Groupon Russia (formerly DarBarry) said:

"We're happy about this cooperation. We have been impressed with the success of Odnoklassniki and Mail.Ru Group. We very much appreciate that such a quality audience is vital for the further development of Groupon in the Russian-speaking internet market.  We make significant efforts to negotiate the most attractive discounts to our users and we're confident that the Odnoklassniki users will appreciate the service and will like our exclusive offers".