Anonymous sources suggest Facebook has plans to take on Craigslist

According to a report in The Daily, Facebook is fast tracking a new tool, called Marketplace, that will allow users to create classified ads that appear in their Friends' newsfeeds.

For a small fee - less than $5 according to The Daily's sources - users can sell pretty much anything they like using the ads which can incorporate photos and links to external sites.

Craiglist's property and job postings could also be threatened as Facebook plans to include these categories in the Marketplace tool. Furthermore, property listings will likely be free and targeted to only those who live within a certain radius from the person posting the ad.

"The whole affair seems to be very targeted, allowing users to locate anything from roommates to jobs by taking advantage of Facebook's vast network," writes The Daily's Matt Hickey.

"This focused method is the very opposite of Craigslist's wider (but so-far successful) shotgun approach; instead of broadcasting ads to everyone on the web, Facebook will just display those that are relevant to the users that might be interested."

No specific timescales associated with the launch of Marketplace have been provided.

Tags: advertising, classified advertising, Craigslist, Facebook, social ads, social network