Facebook unveils new search ad plan

Facebook has unveiled a new feature which delivers ads to users based on their search queries, taking a page from a strategy used effectively by Google and others.

Facebook has unveiled a new feature which delivers ads to users based on their search queries, taking a page from a strategy used effectively by Google and others.

'We have launched a feature that surfaces sponsored results along with the organic results when people are looking for things on Facebook,' a Facebook spokeswoman said.

'We try to show people apps and pages they'll be most interested in.'

The world's biggest social network gets most of its revenues from ads, but until now has not directly linked those ads to search queries in the manner of the big search engines like Google and Yahoo.

The move comes with Facebook seeking to reassure investors it can boost revenues after a disastrous public offering in May, after which its share price fell by more than half.