Yelp in the Land of Oz

Coming to you live from Australia -- I'm proud to share that Yelp is officially live in Oz. I've been traveling throughout this great country for the past week and while the downpour of rain was impressive, so were the vibrant cityscapes and friendly locals.

Starting today, we hope that Aussies will find Yelp.com.au to be a fun place to share their thoughts on who has the best cup of coffee or where to find the most eclectic collection of local fashion designers. Over time, we'd expect that Yelp will help people find a great dentist or mechanic.  No local business is too small to be reviewed, and therein lie the hidden gems.

As we ramp up our efforts we plan to focus on Sydney and Melbourne first, and as some astute press have noted, we're also looking to get this party started in other major cities as well. But you don't have to wait for us, users can log on to the site from anywhere in Australia. For those who live by their smartphones we have a spiffy little Yelp app available for iPhone and Android devices as well as our robust mobile site.

For all you small business owners out there, be sure to claim your free Yelp business profile page at biz.yelp.com.au and learn all about the appropriate ways to use the site and tools to help you make the most of your listing. (free photo uploads, business description etc.)

Looking back on Yelp's international expansion, I can't think of a city where there was as much interest in when we'd be launching as there is here. So to that we say -- The FTR (first to review) honor is yours for the taking and we hope you like what we've built for you. Please shoot your comments and suggestions to feedback@yelp.com.au -- we're interested in hearing what you think of the site.