Facebook plays safe and scraps regional networks

Facebook now has 350 million users worldwide after only five years of existence, the social networking site's CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerburg said today. But the site that was famously invented in Zuckerburg's dorm room in Harvard is having to make some changes to improve security.

As a result, one of Facebook's unique selling points has to go. The 'regional networks' that have allowed users to identify themselves as members of groups - for instance, the school they went to or the city they live in - are to be scrapped in order to give members more control over who can access their information.

Zuckerburg said: "As Facebook has grown, some of these regional networks now have millions of members and we've concluded that this is no longer the best way for you to control your privacy."

The move comes just five months after photographs of Britain's new spy chief, Sir John Sawers, were posted by his wife, Shelly Sawers, on her Facebook account. They showed the MI6 director relaxing on the beach in his bathing trunks. His wife had assumed they would be seen only by her circle of friends and family.

In fact, of course, they were instantly accessible to anyone on the London network, along with other potentially compromising information about the Sawers' children and one of their homes.

The scrapping of regional networks, which will take effect immediately, means Facebook users will now have complete control over who is able to access their posts.