It looks like Facebook is setting is targets firmly on Google, with a new way of thinking about search.

By cleverly weaving its service into other websites, Facebook is hoping that rather then searching the web the ‘old way’ via search engines like Google or Yahoo,  users will navigate through the web following their own connections and interests.

Mark Zuckerberg, (CEO, Facebook) described this at a recent developers conference in San Francisco:

The web is at a really important turning point now, most things aren’t social and they don’t use your real identity. This is really starting to change.

Facebook (over 400 million users) refer to this as Open Graph and Mark Zuckerberg describes the new development as ‘the most transformative thing we’ve ever done for the web’.

The main thrust of this new development will hinge on the ‘Like’ icon.   Essentially, users will be able to click on the button next to an article on a web page and share it on their Facebook profiles without leaving the other website.

The success or failure of this may be determined by fears over privacy – just how many people want all of this information shared.

However Facebook have  said that users would have complete control over privacy.