Facebook to offer ‘Deals’ to users

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook Inc. said on Tuesday it has begun testing a new service called “Deals,” which will allow users of the social networking service in certain cities to receive discounts on local services and activities.

The new feature, which is similar to the daily discount service popularized by Groupon Inc., will be available initially in Austin, Texas, as well as Dallas, Atlanta, San Diego and San Francisco, Facebook said.

Users can either receive discount offers via email or through a Deals site on Facebook, the company said. Facebook, which has attracted over 600 million users, said that in certain cases, users will be able to see which deals their social contacts have purchased.

Chicago-based Groupon has attracted a rapidly growing number of subscribers to its daily deals service, and now employs over 7,000 people worldwide. The company is expected to undertake an initial public offering of shares later this year.