* May 7 roadshow means stock may debut May 18 -source 
 
 * Zuckerberg to be involved in roadshow -source 
 
 * Regulatory review of Facebook IPO near completion -source 
 
 By Alistair Barr and Alexei Oreskovic 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, May 1 (Reuters) - The roadshow for Facebook Inc's initial public offering is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company's shares should begin trading on May 18, a source familiar with the process said on Tuesday. 
 
 Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has mostly operated in the background during Facebook's closely watched journey to public markets, will be involved in the roadshow, another source said. 
 
 Facebook declined to comment. 
 
 Many on Wall Street had not expected Zuckerberg to turn up on the roadshow after he skipped a March analysts' meeting, ceding the stage to COO Sheryl Sandberg and CFO David Ebersman. His March absence irked some investors who were indignant that the CEO, while wielding near-absolute control over the eight-year-old firm, had snubbed Wall Street. 
 
 IPO roadshows, in which company management presents its strategy to prospective investors, typically last one to two weeks. If the roadshow goes particularly well, shares sometimes start trading a few days earlier. 
 
 Facebook is set to raise at least $5 billion in what will likely be the largest Silicon Valley IPO ever. The world's largest social network continues to command keen investor interest although disappointing first-quarter results raised questions about whether it can sustain breakneck growth for the longer term. 
 
 A source familiar with the offering said last week that a recent acquisition spurt by the company could have added about a week to the IPO timetable as regulators signed off on the deals. 
 
 This review is close to completion, however, allowing the company to go ahead with the roadshow on May 7, according to the source who spoke with Reuters on Tuesday. The sources did not want to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about the company's IPO. 
 
 "I have not seen as broad-based interest in an IPO since Google. Investor demand is immense," said Scott Sweet of research firm IPO Boutique. "I expect a roadshow that will rival all roadshows where investors will be turned away at the door." 
 
 The news on the road show was first reported by tech blog AllThingsDigital and the Wall Street Journal. ||||| SAN FRANCISCO _ Dressed in his trademark hoodie and jeans, Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg kicked off a cross-country road show to pitch his company’s initial public stock offering. 
 
 Hundreds of institutional investors stood in long lines Monday to pile into a ballroom at New York’s Sheraton Hotel to hear the billion-dollar pitch from the 27-year-old chief executive before his company’s hotly anticipated IPO. The meeting was closed to the media. 
 
 Facebook is trying to build excitement for the IPO that in a few weeks could value the company at more than $96 billion. That would make it the largest offering to come out of Silicon Valley. The Menlo Park, Calif., company said last week that it would offer 337.4 million shares at $28 to $35 each. 
 
 Investors expect that price range to jump as the road show makes its way across the nation, including stops in Boston and Chicago. Facebook plans to raise as much as $11.8 billion in its IPO. It’s expected to price the offering May 17 and begin trading the next day. The shares will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FB. 
 
 The presentation was more than an hour late in starting and began with a slickly produced video, which frustrated some would-be investors, who say they only got the opportunity to ask eight questions. 
 
 Zuckerberg was accompanied by Chief Financial Officer David Ebersman, in suit and tie, and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, in business attire. They fielded questions about Facebook’s slowing revenue growth and its $1 billion purchase of photo-sharing firm Instagram. 
 
 The executives said they were confident that Facebook’s growth would continue. Zuckerberg called Instagram a “good deal” and said he would buy Instagram again. 
 
 “All in all, it wasn’t extremely penetrating,” said one investor, who added that he had never seen anything like the heightened security at the Facebook event. 
 
 Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung expects Facebook’s revenue to grow 40 percent this year and 33 percent in 2013, he said in a note to investors Monday. He said the $28 to $35 range was a “compelling entry point” for investors. 
 
 “It’s generally agreed upon amongst investors that the Facebook IPO will be very successful and Facebook as a company will be very successful,” said Anthony Valencia, a media analyst at TCW Group who attended the event. “What is not agreed upon is how much upside there will be for new investors.” 
 
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 Topics: c000047573 ||||| SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc's record initial public offering is already oversubscribed, a source familiar with the share listing said, days after the world's largest social network embarked on a cross-country roadshow to drum up investor enthusiasm. 
 
 Despite concerns about slowing growth, a lofty valuation and signs the company is having trouble ramping up revenue from mobile advertising, institutional investors have so far indicated demand for more shares than Facebook has available, the source told Reuters. 
 
 Analysts say the company, which is seeking to raise about $10.6 billion by selling more than 337 million shares at $28 to $35 apiece, may raise that price range if demand turns out to be healthy enough. 
 
 One large institutional investor had put in a major order for shares on Wednesday and was calling around syndicate desks trying to acquire more, a second source familiar with the IPO's progress told Reuters, declining to be identified because the details are not public. 
 
 Facebook declined to comment. 
 
 The company that began as Mark Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm room project is expected to begin trading on May 18 after an IPO that dwarfs the coming-out parties of other tech powerhouses. 
 
 With 900 million users, it is challenging established Web businesses such as Google and Yahoo Inc for consumers' online time and advertising dollars. 
 
 But longer term, analysts say Facebook needs to develop a way to earn money from the increasing number of users who access the social network on mobile devices such as smartphones. 
 
 Facebook, which makes most of its money from advertising, began offering limited ads on the mobile version of its service only recently. 
 
 (Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic and Olivia Oran; Editing by Paul Tait)
– Facebook plans to begin a roadshow to pitch its stock to investors on Monday, clearing the way for an initial public offering on May 18, sources tell the Wall Street Journal. Mark Zuckerberg plans to appear at some meetings but other top Facebook execs will be handling most of the roadshow, the sources say. The closely-watched IPO is expected to value Facebook at up to $100 billion and raise up to $10 billion, making it the biggest in Silicon Valley history. "I have not seen as broad-based interest in an IPO since Google. Investor demand is immense," an analyst at research firm IPO Boutique tells Reuters. "I expect a roadshow that will rival all roadshows where investors will be turned away at the door." But the timing has mystified some analysts, including Darcy Travlos at Forbes, who believes Facebook should wait a few months to show investors that slowing revenue growth can be turned around and the company's $1 billion acquisition of Instagram was a wise move. "Going public now raises the question: Is this as good as it gets?" she notes.