Top stars are E&S web buddies

Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, singer Beverley Knight and newcomers The Twang all hail from the Midlands but they now have something else in common.

Click here for the E&S MySpace page and become a friend.

If you want your band to be included, email us here

All three acts have become "friends" with the Express & Star's new page on MySpace, the popular internet social networking site.

More than 1,000 people have joined up with the new E&S site.

Other major acts to link their pages with the E&S site include indie rockers Editors, who formed at Staffordshire University, The Wonder Stuff, who joined Vic Reeves for the 1991 number one hit Dizzy, and Wolverhampton singer Scott Matthews.

More chart stars have agreed to be included on the site, including Happy Mondays, the Chemical Brothers and Manic Street Preachers. MySpace is a free service which allows users to create their own page in an interactive network of websites.

Each page can include photos, weblogs or blogs, user profiles, messages and videos.

Each member agrees to be friends with another user by adding a link to their site.

MySpace has proved a major hit with young internet users, particularly bands and musicians, who use the service to showcase their music.

It is among the top 10 most popular websites on the internet, with hundreds of millions of users worldwide. The E&S website, Expressandstar.com, has set up its own MySpace page to bring together local talent and music fans who want to know more about the scene in the region.

Chris Leggett, electronic editor for MNA Digital, which works with the E&S team on Expressandstar.com, said: "Although there are hundreds of local bands from all genres of music featured on MySpace, there are very few places where they can be seen together.

"As the biggest regional publisher, we felt we could fill this gap and give a platform to the local creative talent.

"We will feature a selection of our 'friends' on the main Expressandstar.com website each week so that the thousands of people who visit our site every day can see the potential stars of the future.

"We hope this will bring a new audience to the singers and musicians who are performing around the region every week.

"We will be looking to expand the section to include local artists and filmmakers in the coming weeks."

The first local acts to appear on Express andstar.com include indie band The Lines, from Wolverhampton, singer-songwriter Matt Tyler and Walsall grunge rockers Litmustest.

To see The Lines click here.

To see Matt Tyler click here.

To see Litmustest click here.

The E&S MySpace page will also bring news of the best content to appear on the site and in the paper. To find out more, visit www.myspace.com/expressandstar