Facebook usernames to be released

New Facebook usernames will be available from 5am on Saturday

Social networking site Facebook is giving users the chance to create their own, personalised web address.

From Saturday morning, anyone using Facebook will be able to sign up for a username using their name and surname.

The changes will be available to members from 5am on 13 June but users will have to get up early as it'll be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The company says the new Facebook URLs will make it easier for people to search for common names on the site.

Facebook users have always used their real names for profiles within the social networking site, but this is the first time URLs will contain the same information.

Instead of a jumble of numbers at the end of a user's URL it will read, for example, www.facebook.com/joe.bloggs.

The social networking site says usernames will still have the same privacy settings as profile names when using the site's search tool.

If users signed up for a Facebook page after 31 May this year or a user profile after Wednesday at 8pm, they may not be able to sign up for a username immediately.

That's to stop abuse or "squatting" on names.

A Facebook blog on the username changes said: "We're planning to offer Facebook usernames to make it easier for people to find and connect with you.

"When your friends, family members or co-workers visit your profile or pages on Facebook, they will be able to enter your username as part of the URL in their browser.

"This way people will have an easy-to-remember way to find you.

"We expect to offer even more ways to use your Facebook username in the future.

"Your new Facebook URL is like your personal destination, or home, on the web."