AOL Readies High-Stakes Social-Media Debut

In the world of social networking, it's time for AOL's big debut, and there's a lot of money riding on the outcome.

In March, the Time Warner unit said it would plunk down $850 million for Bebo, the No. 3 social-media Web site by unique visitors, which has yet to gain a foothold in the U.S. and has lost share in Britain, its strongest market, to rival Facebook.

Though such sites are exploding in popularity, questions remain about their value as advertising vehicles, leading several analysts to ask whether AOL overpaid for Bebo.