I’ve found that, in the U.S., I’m likely to hear “or-what?” after uttering the word “Orkut.”  Google’s social network is quite popular overseas, however, and this status was recently confirmed when Orkut was chosen as the Youth Icon of 2007 in a contest sponsored by MTV India and Pepsi.

IBNLive reports, “Not only did it beat other nominees this year including actor Abhishek Bachchan, Multimedia Cell Phones and YOU, the website has succeeded icons like cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, superstar Shahrukh Khan, cricketer Rahul Dravid and industrialist Anil Ambani.”

Granted, most (or all) of those names may be unfamiliar to our American readers, but a quick glance at their Wikipedia pages should prove their popularity.  And if you want more evidence of Orkut’s standing, a look at the new “Pepsi and MTV’s Youth Icon 2007” community should provide a hint - it already has over 1,200 members.

Orkut’s Sanjay Ramakrishnan, a product marketing manager, has done his part to thank these fans.  In a post on the official Orkut Blog, he wrote, “It is YOU who drives us forward and YOU who helps us Stay Beautiful!”

This development also comes soon after Google celebrated India’s 60th birthday.

Tags: Orkut, Youth Icon, India, Google