Facebook plans Google-like search engine

BANGALORE, INDIA: The competition between Facebook and Google is pretty public. Evidently, Google+ was launched to curb Facebook's rising popularity in social networking. Now, in order to maintain the lead in the cyber world, Facebook is planning to diversify its functions and is reportedly reshaping its search functionality to compete with Google.

What fundamentally could have prompted the move was the social networking site users jumping off to Google for browsing other information.

According to reports, Facebook developers, led by former Google engineer Lars Rasmussen, are working on Facebook search engine, which would enable easy browsing of Facebook status, images, messages and wall posts.

Citing unnamed sources, a report in Bloomberg Businessweek said the project aims to enable users to more easily search Facebook's status updates, posted articles, pictures and videos.