HONG KONG — The top social-networking service in the world’s biggest Internet market was created by graduates of a prestigious university to help students communicate with one another. And it’s not Facebook.

Renren.com leads China’s surging social-networking market with more than 160 million registered users, according to Analysys International in Beijing. Competitor Kaixin001.com has more than 93 million. Their edge over billionaire Mark Zuckerberg’s service: a government that blocks Facebook access.

“Our service is basically the same as Facebook’s, in terms of functions and features,” said Donna Li, a general manager at Renren. “We are more tailored to the China market.”

With Facebook’s valuation topping $63 billion, Renren and peers may be the next investment opportunities in a market with more Internet users than the combined populations of the United States and Japan. Those sites and competitors Tencent Holdings and Baidu have room to grow as the online advertising market is projected to triple to almost $13 billion by 2014.

Advertisers warming up

“Advertisers have really warmed to the new social-networking sites very quickly,” said Steven Chang, chief executive officer for China at Zenith Optimedia, the media unit of Publicis Groupe. “A lot of advertisers are willing to do business with the new social-media sites because many of them actually use the services.”

Renren (“everyone” in Chinese) is probably preparing for an initial public offering, said Michael Clendenin, managing director at consultants RedTech Advisers in Shanghai. The site’s biggest investor is Japan’s Softbank. Kaixin001.com, founded by former Sina Corp. executive Cheng Binghao, also is seeking a listing, Clendenin said.

Online advertising in China likely totaled $3.9 billion last year and may climb more than 30 percent annually to $12.9 billion by 2014, Susquehanna International Group estimated in December. The portion spent on social networking likely will double to 24 percent that year from 12 percent in 2010, it said.

Facebook, Twitter banned since 2009

China’s social-networking sites haven’t competed against international websites since 2009, when the government banned access to Facebook and Twitter. Internet users can circumvent the firewall through means such as AnchorFree’s virtual private network service that assign an anonymous address traceable back only to the company and not the user. Using VPNs results in slower Internet connections.

Zuckerberg, 26, visited Baidu and Sina offices in December, fueling speculation Facebook is seeking increased access in China. Facebook may “potentially” win advertising sales from Chinese companies, Jayne Leung, head of the company’s sales operations in Hong Kong, said Tuesday.

Facebook, which claims more than 500 million users worldwide, is valued at $63.7 billion, according to secondary exchange SharesPost.

Renren’s roots trace back to 2005, when graduates of Tsinghua University in Beijing founded Xiaonei.com, or “inside school.” That was just after Zuckerberg pitched his service to fellow Harvard students.

In 2006, Xiaonei was acquired by Oak Pacific Interactive, which renamed the service Renren in 2009.

Academic background

“Previously, our name spoke of our background in academia. Now we have a wider appeal,” Li said, noting advertising has more than doubled each year since the site started selling space in 2008.

Renren’s user interface resembles Facebook and carries advertisements for Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and China Mobile Communications’s phone service. Renren users can post messages and access games, applications and other options.

In 2008, Oak Pacific sold a 35 percent stake to investors including Softbank, the Japanese mobile-phone operator headed by billionaire Masayoshi Son, for $430 million.

Renren aims to increase user numbers through its music, wireless and location-tracking services, Li said, as well as through Nuomi.com, an online commerce affiliate.

Government censors monitor the Internet and block access to content deemed unacceptable. Facebook users may join groups supporting Tibet independence and Liu Xiaobo, the jailed Chinese dissident awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, yet no such forums are found on Renren or Kaixin.

Renren plans to take advantage of those restrictions on international rivals, Li said.

“We don’t know when Facebook will enter, and what they’ll do, but we are confident,” Li said. “We want to be the dominant player in social networking.”