YouTube launched a localised service in South Korea Wednesday

The company's main focus is first to build global communities and then consider how to make a profit. YouTube now provides localised services in 19 countries.

Users can upload, view, and share video clips through YouTube, which was bought by the world's top Internet search engine Google in 2006.

However, Youtube faces tough competition with home-grown user-created content sites, which have dominated the local market.

Google also launched a Korean-language search site in 2000 but has been striving to boost its presence against competition from local firms in one of the world's most wired societies.

Some 70 percent of Korean homes have high-speed Internet access but most prefer local search engines.