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Graphic designer Rebecca Ling reckoned it was her lucky day: she just managed to grab a coupon for a half-price UA film ticket via ubuyibuy.com. The offer didn't last long because with some 10,400 people snapping up the deal, the quota was exceeded within 24 hours.

It wasn't the first time that Ling found a bargain on the website. The 28-year-old has bought coupons to dine at a steak house, have her nails manicured and get a full-body wax treatment, all at half price. 'It has become part of my daily routine to check out what the site has to offer,' she says.

Ubuyibuy.com is one of a dozen so-called groupon websites that have emerged in Hong Kong this year. Merging the words group and coupon, groupons rely on online purchases en mass to achieve big discounts. Those who sign up get an electronic coupon for the service or product on offer. If they fail to reach a threshold, the deal is off and no one pays; but for popular items, there's usually a limit on numbers.

Many operators promote their deals through social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and weibo, and, hopefully, accumulate large followings that allow them to attract more quality merchants.

'Groupon sites are a side product of the social network boom. It's a model for start-ups to monetise their projects via social networks,' says Eugene Chan Yat-him, digital marketing executive for Edelman.

Most local operations are modelled on Groupon.com, the business founded by Chicago graduate-school dropout Andrew Mason with US$1 million in seed capital. According to US internet analysis site TechCrunch.com, Groupon has grown from a start-up two years ago to a US$1.35 billion global business that attracts more than 10 million users each month.

Such dazzling numbers have fired up aspiring entrepreneurs the world over. This year the frenzy spread to the mainland where, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International, more than 900 groupon-like sites sprang up in six months, a number of them hosted on major portals such as Sina, Sohu and qq.com.

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