Social networking site Facebook unveiled a new downsized version of its Web site to selected test users, but accidentally revealed the 'Facebook Lite edition' to a much larger group than intended. "This evening, the test was temporarily exposed to a larger set of users by mistake," said Facebook officials.


According to Facebook, the Lite edition is a fast-loading, simplified version of Facebook that enables people to post comments, accept friend requests and look at photos and status updates. Facebook Lite is being tested in India and other countries where new users are flooding to the service. Invitations to take part in a private test of 'Facebook Lite' reached a variety of U.S. bloggers only to have the enclosed links to be available to everyone online.

The screen shots of the new version captured and posted online revealed a Facebook page devoted to fresh comments and updates from friends in a style that could challenge the real-time interplay on Twitter.

Facebook had announced on Monday that it had acquired FriendFeed, a startup which allows members to see what their friends are doing online and share content. FriendFeed has been described as a potential rival to Twitter in its ability to conduct real-time search, an area where Facebook has been seeking to expand.