Community Connect Inc., the largest niche social networking company, and Wilderness Media & Entertainment (WME), the gay media and entertainment portfolio company owned by LOGO founder Matt Farber, proudly announced their partnership to create the first social and professional networking site for the LGBT community. The site, GLEE.com, will be launched mid-January on CCI’s technology platform that supports BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com and AsianAvenue.com and their 16 million members.

GLEE.com (Gay, Lesbian and Everyone Else) welcomes the entire gay community and their friends. The gay-centric online space will provide tools for meeting new people, connecting with friends and expressing ideas and interests through shared experiences, especially on a local level. The focus of the brand will be GLEE groups—an outlet for networking around both social and professional interests.

In the area of professional networking, members will be encouraged to create profiles, forums and groups that will connect them with others in their chosen careers. GLEE.com members will benefit from the already established relationship Community Connect has with Monster.com that delivers targeted job opportunities to its members.

There are an estimated 15 million identified LGBT people in the United States; however, there is no specific online community that serves this market from a pure social and professional networking perspective.

“Community Connect Inc. conducted a survey this past April of LGBT people who actively used social portals and found that 76 percent of users wanted a gay social and professional networking site that was more targeted to their needs than MySpace or Friendster and offered more meaningful social networking options than the bevy of gay dating sites currently available,” said Ben Sun, CEO of Community Connect. “We are excited to partner with WME, the leading gay and lesbian media company, to provide this underserved market with a world-class platform for self-expression.”

Farber added, “The power of the Community Connect platform and their expertise in creating social networking sites for niche markets combined with the gay audience and marketing expertise of WME will ensure that GLEE.com members will have the best possible networking outlet available to the LGBT community and its supporters.”