Music-focused social network Imeem convinced the world’s largest record company, Universal Music Group, to allow Imeem’s 19 million active users access to its music and video catalog, the companies said.

Launched in 2004, Imeem is the fastest-growing social networking Web site, according to comScore data. More than 50,000 new users in the age 24 or younger join the site every day. It is the fourth most popular multimedia entertainment site in the U.S. after Google Inc’s YouTube, Google Video and News Corp’s MySpace Videos, according to tracking firm Hitwise.

The site allows its users to listen to free music and encourages them to share play-list with friends. However, Imeem’s users cannot download any of its music, but the site includes links to both Apple’s iTunes and Amazon.com if users want to purchase tracks.

Imeem already has similar licensing deals with the other three major record labels, Warner Music Group, EMI Music and SonyBMG Music Entertainment to access their entire music and video catalogs. Together, the four biggest companies account for more than 85 percent of music sales so far this year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Imeem’s users will be able to access content from Universal Music, whose artists include Black Eyed Peas, Snow Patrol, Kanye West, Gwen Stefani, The Killers, The Pussycat Dolls, 50 Cent, Maroon5, Amy Winehouse and hundreds of others.

“Universal Music Group is committed to exploring new ways for consumers to discover and enjoy our artists’ music online. Imeem has developed an innovative way to make our artists' music a central part of the social networking experience. More importantly, they’ve done so the right way — by working with UMG to provide an exciting musical experience for consumers, while ensuring that our artists are fairly compensated for the use of their works,” said UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris in a statement.

“(This is a) defining moment for social networking and ad-supported music. Our agreement with UMG will make Imeem’s media-centric experience even more compelling,” Imeem Chief Executive Dalton Caldwell added.

Universal, owned by French media group Vivendi, will receive a small payment, equivalent to a fraction of a cent, each time one of its songs is streamed. The exact terms of the agreement between the two labels have not been disclosed yet. What is known for sure, is that Universal has not imposed any restrictions concerning the number of times a song can be played, according to the Imeem representative.

The agreement between the two companies is coming as an attempt of Universal to find ways to stop the unauthorized spread of music on the internet. . Imeem is known for advising its users to comply with the copyright laws.