We all know and love the venerable ‘out of home’ strategy, but Bebo has taken it one step further – welcome to ‘out of Earth’ marketing.

The project enables Bebo users to create and vote for 500 digital messages to be broadcast into space.

The extra-terrestrial communication project, ‘A Message From Earth’, set up by the social networking site and production company RDF is also being made into a TV show.

In the first month since it launched the site has attracted 350,000 visitors and 10 million video views and the weekly magazine The Launch Pad has also attracted more than one million views to date.

Oli Madgett, who came up with the idea for Bebo, says “We are now working on developing the next stage of the project, both in terms of integrating brands, rolling out into other territories and launching a complementary TV proposition.”

The final 500 messages actually being sent into space will be chosen by Bebo users via a vote that runs until 30 September 2008.

Kate Burns, vice president for Bebo Europe, explains “Today’s youth audience is looking for ways to express itself and this project is allowing us a window into what people care about from lighthearted fun to the issues that really make people stop and think.”

While it may seem like a completely innovative idea, there’s been some criticism that Bebo has been slow on the uptake.

An English website, www.sentforever.com, has been sending messages into space for the last two years, sending regular updates telling subscribers how far in the universe their message has travelled.

But be careful what you send: remember that, like a tattoo of your ex girlfriend’s name on your arse, once it’s sent you can’t take it back…