Facebook App Center goes live in all countries

The social networking site had first rolled out its App Center in June 2012 for US users. The App Center, available on Facebook's website and on Apple and Android mobile devices, will recommend apps to users based on their interests, the types of apps their friends like, or the apps they have liked in the past.

The App Center had gone live with about 600 Facebook apps, mostly games, reviewed by the company to meet its quality standards. Games, such as Zynga's "CityVille" and Electronic Arts' "The Sims," are the most popular types of apps on Facebook.

Many people on Facebook are introduced to its apps in the form of sometimes-annoying requests from their friends for poker partners, Scrabble buddies or neighbours on virtual farms. Those requests haven't necessarily matched a user's specific interests.

Later in July 2012, the social networking site had extended its App Center to India and five other countries - Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Just last week Facebook users in Brazil, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey were given access to Facebook App Center.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook Inc., mobiles are currently a top priority and Facebook App Center can play a pivotal role in the company's mobile strategy.

Facebook had earlier made it clear that on mobile devices, its App Center won't compete with other app stores, such as Apple's or Google's. Rather, the App Center will send users to those other stores to download the programs. People can also get mobile apps from their regular computers by using a feature called 'send to mobile.'