I agree. Another issue is that if you do a local version as an outsider, people will be able to tell that something's just not right, and you'll have a hard tim

I agree. Another issue is that if you do a local version as an outsider, people will be able to tell that something's just not right, and you'll have a hard time competing with home-grown apps, that understand the local culture much better. There must be some reason that in most of the countries you listed, millions of people still use crappy 10MB e-mail services and social networking sites that are local to the country, and got the cultural factor right. Gmail and Yahoo all try to localize, but most people I know who use them are just annoyed by the translations, and quickly switch back to English.