Some say that Facebook has begun a campaign to woo investors. Questions about Facebooks financing needs have been raised by unsubstantiated reports on blogs that the privately held companys chief financial officer has recently met with potential investors in Dubai.

Palo Alto-based Facebook so far has raised about $500 million, including a $240 million investment from Microsoft a year ago. That round of financing valued Facebook at $15 billion and left Zuckerberg, 24, with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Since taking Microsofts money, Facebook has more than doubled in size. The company now has more than 700 employees and its Web site has about 125 million active users worldwide. The huge audience has required Facebook to invest heavily in new computers to keep up with the demands on its Web site.

The deteriorating economy could pose more problems because its expected to crimp online advertising – Facebooks primary source of revenue. Many startups already been firing employees to save money, but Facebook is still hiring, Zuckerberg said.

Facebooks revenue this year will be in the “hundreds of millions” of dollars, according to Zuckerberg. He said Facebook still doesnt expect to go public for several more years.

Source: wvec