Facebook goes all chocolaty

You can now send your Facebook friends chocolaty gifts which they can then pick up at a shop using their mobile phone.

The Celebrate platform has been launched by mobile marketing company, The Light Agency, in conjunction with Mars Snackfood UK.

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Facebook users add the application to their profile then choose the gift - such as a Mars bar - and the friend they want to send it to before paying using their PayPal account.

The recipient of the gift then receives a Facebook message requesting their mobile phone number which the voucher can be sent to.

Once they have the unique mobile voucher ID they can redeem it at more than 12,500 PayPoint stores across the UK.

People have been sending virtual gifts on Facebook but this is one of the first applications that combines the social network with mobile payment technology.

Sarah Miles, trade marketing controller at Mars Snackfood UK, said the app should improve confectionary sales through PayPoint while offering a different way to send gifts to friends and family.