From faces to places Facebook launches new location-based service

Facebook is offering a new feature to its members called Places, which enables users to share information on their whereabouts with others. It was announced on the official Facebook Blog in the States late yesterday.

The idea is nothing new, with Foursquare currently being one of the high-profile rival location-based services available to social networking fans. Unfortunately, Places is also currently available only in the US via the Facebook iPhone app or by logging onto the Facebook smartphone website.

It's thought that the service will be rolled out to members in other territories shortly, with the blog stating: "Places is only available in the United States right now. But we expect to make it available to more countries and on additional mobile platforms soon."

Smartphone technology is now such that pretty much all new models come with a GPS feature, and Places uses this built-in technology to get users to tap a 'check-in' button to see a list of the sites in their locale.

Users can subsequently update the News Feeds of other members with a progress report on their whereabouts. Members are also being encouraged to get others involved by tagging any similarly checked-in Facebook friends they are with at the chosen location.

Although Places isn't really revolutionary, the amount of Facebook members who are likely to pick up on the idea is bound to be huge. Location-based services are expected to grow into a billion-dollar market place over the coming months.

Other services, such as Foursquare, Gowalla, Booyah and Loopt will have to work hard if they’re not rapidly overshadowed by the power of the Facebook alternative.