Facebook App Centre comes to the UK

SOCIAL NETWORK Facebook has rolled out its Google Play rival Facebook App Centre in the UK, following its launch in the US back in May.

Facebook's app service aims to tempt customers away from the Itunes Store and Google Play by offering a more "social" way to discover new apps.

Accessible via the Facebook web site and its mobile apps, the App Centre recommends apps to users based on what their friends have downloaded and their social activiity. Once users have selected an app to download, Facebook will redirect them to the relevant app store.

"App Centre will become the new, central place to find great apps like Draw Something, Pinterest, Spotify, Battle Pirates, Viddy, and Bubble Witch Saga," Facebook explains.

"The App Centre is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook - whether they're on iOS, Android or the mobile web. From the mobile App Centre, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play."

Facebook's App Centre also aims to encourage developers to create paid-for apps specifically for Facebook.com, with the social network planning to take a 30 per cent cut of developers' revenues.

Now that it's available in Blighty, Facebook has seeded the service with a number of UK-centric apps, including Deezer, Livesport TV and The Guardian. µ