Facebook to launch ''something awesome'' next week: Zuckerberg

Boston: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has a surprise up his sleeve for the over 500 million users of his social networking site with the billionaire CEO today saying his company is planning to "launch something awesome" next week.

Zuckerberg, speaking at his company''s office in Seattle, did not divulge any further details apart from saying that the company planned to "launch something awesome" next week. However, it is being speculated that the new feature to be launched could be in the mobile or tablet space. A report in the Los Angeles Times said there are various mobile products in development at Facebook, including the release of a long-awaited Facebook app for Apple''s iPad and a specialised app for photo-sharing on the iPhone.

"We are working on a number of exciting things that we have not yet announced, but stay tuned for next week," the report quoted Facebook director of engineering Andrew Bosworth as saying.

The project has been developed at the 40-person Seattle office, which is Facebook''s only major engineering hub outside of its Palo Alto, California headquarters.

In the past, the Seattle office has played a key role in Facebook''s mobile efforts, the report said. Facebook''s Seattle office has made a mark on the company''s mobile efforts, playing a central role in the development of Facebook''s unified mobile site, unveiled in March, it added.

Zuckerberg now richer than Google founders

Boston: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's personal fortunes have soared, thanks to investment fund GSV Capital's recent stake in the social networking site which has put the Harvard dropout at a worth higher than Google founder Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Earlier this week, GSV Capital Corp bought 225,000 shares in Facebook at an average price of USD 29.28 each.

This stake values the popular social networking site at about USD 70 billion.

Based on the new investment, Zuckerberg in turn is worth approximately USD 18 billion, a report in Time magazine said.

"With the new valuation, Zuckerberg has one-upped Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, whose fortunes are estimated to have dropped," the Time report said.

This estimate makes Zuckerberg the third-richest man in the technology sector in the world, only behind Microsoft's Bill Gates and Oracle's Larry Ellison.

While Gates is estimated to be currently worth USD 56 billion, Ellison is the world's fifth-richest billionaire at USD 39.5 billion.

Earlier this year, Zuckerberg's net worth stood at USD 13.5 billion.

He had already shot past Apple's Steve Jobs last year and has now passed Google's Brin and Page, whose fortunes are now estimated to have dropped to USD 17 billion from USD 19.8 billion in March.