Forget Facebook, there is an elite social network that only requires Sh800,000 to join!

Netropolitan is a new social network that wants to differentiate itself from the riffraff on Facebook by charging a mind-boggling $9,000 (£5,500) to join.

Describing itself as the "online country club for people with more money than time" (or, perhaps, more money than sense), Netropolitan wants to provide "affluent and accomplished" individuals with a way of socialising online that is "completely private and secure".

First-year fees to join the website are $9,000 plus an additional $3,000 for every subsequent year as a member.

For that sum, users get a private, encrypted social network that cannot be viewed on the public web. The site is completely ad-free and moderated by the Netropolitan team to ensure "a pleasant and courteous experience for all". When members sign up, they also have to agree not to divulge the identities of other members to non-members outside The Club and to not take screenshots of people’s profiles.

The site was set up by 48-year-old James Touchi-Peters, who wanted a social network filled with people he could relate to - something he apparently struggled with in among Facebook’s 1.32 billion active monthly users.

The service only launched this week, but Mark Zuckerberg is unlikely to be quaking in his boots any time soon.