• Bloomberg News/The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, February 12, 2009 11:45 AM

Facebook announced this morning that it's seeking more partnerships with wireless service providers and phone makers like Nokia, Apple, and Research in Motion. The social networking giant already has applications on devices like Apple's iPhone and RIM's BlackBerry, but it is now looking to more closely integrate Facebook with these mobile devices. About 13% of Facebook users access the site via their mobile phones.

One example of the new features being developed is a tool that allows users to merge their phone contacts with their Facebook friends. Phone makers are also working on displaying Facebook profile pictures when contacts call. The INQ1 phone, offered by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. in the U.K., will be one of the first phones to offer this feature. According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook is in discussions with Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, to include Facebook features in its devices. The Journal said an announcement could be made as early as next week's GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but Nokia is considering whether to strike a partnership with Facebook or build its own service.

Last year, Facebook overtook MySpace as the Web's No. 1 social network, with traffic more than doubling to about 222 million users in December, according to comScore, making Facebook the Web's seventh largest Web site.

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