THE Glasgow duo behind Scotland's groundbreaking social networking site are hoping to take a big bite out of the Big Apple showcasing some of the country's biggest brands in New York.

Technology experts Brian Hughes and Stewart Fraser, are unleashing Version Two of their new social media platform, Kiltr, in the American city as part of Scotland Week.

Brian, 38, are in New York along with representatives from firms such as Glasgow nightclub Sub Club, Harris Tweed Hebrides, Rockness, Scottish Style Awards, Linn Music Systems and artist Gerard Burns.

Brian , a father-of-two and chief executive of Kiltr, said their team of 11 full-time and four part-time staff had been working 12-hour days in their West End office in the run-up to the event.

He said: "But we are so excited to finally showcase our second phase, which is full of media, and we are confident it will give our community a richer social experience they will be pushed to find elsewhere."

The Version 2 preview, which has been designed to have more focus on social content, with better images and sounds, will take place on Tuesday at the Highlands venue in New York's West Village, where it will be presented to an audience of VIPs, media representatives and celebrities.

The full launch will take place in Glasgow on May 16.

Brian said: "We are different to anything that is out there already because we focus on content as well as relationships.

"Facebook is about friends, Linkedin is about business.

"We are a platform for work, life and culture and anyone with a connection to Scotland, or who is interested in the country, can get involved."

Scotland Week is built on the Tartan Day celebrations in America and Canada, taking place tomorrow.

It is an annual week-long programme of business, political and tourism events aimed at the promotion of Scotland as a great place to live, visit, do business, study and invest.

Brian and Stewart, 40, who met at university in Glasgow, launched the site in August 2010 and Version One came last year during Scotland Week.

The site, which, so far, has had £1.4million of private investment, is designed to allow users to see up-to-date content they are interested in, thanks to a new filtering system.

Users can also post their own information that people or organisations they are connected to will be able to see.

Creative brands that have been successfully using the site are joining the New York showcase, including Harris Tweed Hebrides, which went from five followers to 2000 at the end of last year, signalling the massive growth of the site.

Scottish Style Awards founder Mary McGowne will also discuss the positive effect of the site.

At the exhibition, Brian will also chat about Collectiv Works – the driving force behind Kiltr – and the plans to build many more online communities based around shared interest areas, organisations, groups and individuals.

And former Sub Club owner Paul Crawford, Kiltr's head of events, will share the company's plans for the new offKiltr events arm where the cultural online content will be brought to life through international and Scottish-based events.

Brian said: "There is so much more to Kiltr than just the digital side. We want to get involved with the Government and the public sector as well."

He said the firm was working to build "bespoke new media platforms" for other companies to expand their enterprise.

"There has already been a lot of interest from one of the world's largest banks and an enterprise company from Germany.

"This is just the beginning."

To find out more see the website: www.kiltr.com

rachel.loxton@ heraldandtimes.co.uk