Palo Alto, Calif. – Ning, a free platform that lets anyone create their own online social network, has raised $44 million in its first round of outside funding, led by Legg Mason, the company said on its blog.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based Ning said that users have now created over 73,000 social networks using its service.

The company, which was co-founded by and received early investments from Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, will use the investment to add new features, improve existing features, and ramp up operations.

Related Links:
http://blog.ning.com/2007/07/a_little_company_news.html

http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/07/ning-news-new-i.html

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/07/09/big-big-round-of-funding-for-ning