Facebook Inc., the world's most popular social-networking site, is seeking as much as $11.8 billion in its initial public offering, the largest on record for an Internet company.

About 337.4 million shares are being sold at $28 to $35 each, according to a regulatory filing from Menlo Park, California-based Facebook. That compares with the $2.92 billion IPO for German Internet company T-Online International AG in 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Founded in 2004 and led by 27-year-old Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook has amassed more than 900 million users and reported a 24-fold increase in sales over the past four years. The company's popularity as a tool for staying connected online will spur demand for the stock, even as some investors steer clear of a valuation they deem too high, said Francis Gaskins, president of researcher IPOdesktop.com.

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