China's largest social network, Renren, filed for a U.S. initial public offering to raise up to $573.1 million, the first of a clutch of Facebook clones hoping to boost their profile with an American listing. Renren, owned by Oak Pacific Interactive, hopes to tap strong appetite for Chinese tech stocks. Online video company Youku.com Inc (YOKU.N), known as China's YouTube, surged 161 percent on its debut late last year, locking in the best first-day returns of an IPO in five years. China's Internet sector -- the world's largest by users -- is red hot because it is difficult for outside competitors to overcome the political and cultural barriers to operate there, but some analysts warn of a bubble forming. Renren's website -- sporting some 117 million registered users -- is similar to Facebook's as it allows users to share locations with friends, "like" something and post updates.
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