Facebook has revealed that it will be making available personalised URLs for the website, allowing its members to choose their own usernames.
Essentially, this means that you can choose whatever name you want to go at the end of www.facebook.com/ to make it easier for people to search for your account.
Currently your unique user ID consists of a string of randomly chosen numbers. These numbers aren't exactly the easiest to remember, unless you are lucky enough to have 4815162342 as a suffix, they'll be useless to most users.
13 June
As Facebook has around 200 million members, there will be some hoops to jump through to get your personalised URL.
As of Saturday 13 June, you will be able to register your call sign. Names will be done on a first come, first served basis – so the John Smiths of the world better be quick.
On its blog, Facebook has issued the following warning: "Think carefully about the username you choose. Once it's been selected, you won't be able to change or transfer it.
"If you signed up for a Facebook Page after May 31 or a user profile after today at 3 pm EDT, you may not be able to sign up for a username immediately because of steps we've taken to prevent abuse or 'squatting' on names."
Good response
The news that Facebook is giving out these personalised URLs for free has garnered lots of praise from its online community.
Some 27,000 people have already commented on the blog post, so it looks like the folks at Facebook have a busy Saturday ahead of them.
