On Thursday 0600 GMT, Bebo sent up to the stars messages from its members, in a hope for a reply in 40 years time. However the star that they chose to target was Gliese 581C, as they claim that it has the best chance of supporting life.

However, with any small and basic investigation it can be found that Gliese 581C is a well discussed planet that has been found to not be a good candidate to support life forms due research on the effects of the planetary atmosphere. Instead Gliese 581D is considered to be the best candidate to support life forms.

Gliese 581D is an extrasolar planet approximately 20 light-years away in the constellation of Libra. Because of its mass, the planet is classified as a super-Earth planet. Because the planet orbits in the outer edge of its parent star's habitable zone, it is thought that the planet may be similar to Earth.

Now we can ask ourselves, is this a desperate marketing ploy that has not even been researched, or was it a case of Chinese whispers where the words get changed (in this case from D to C), “well hey, those letters do sound the same”.

In all terms, it is a clear case of how we should research before we commence marketing tactics.

Tags: 0600 gmt, bebo, chinese whispers, clear case, constellation, earth planet, extrasolar planet, habitable zone, libra, light years, marketing tactics, outer edge, parent star, planet orbits, planetary atmosphere, ploy, reply, super earth, those letters, wrong planet