MANY USERS of the social networking website Facebook, reported two new features of their profile page - View QR Barcode and Generate User Status QR Barcode. The feature which had popped up for some time, was a test and has disappeared again.

The QR codes are two dimensional, matrix codes which can be read by smartphone softwares. This basically means that these QR codes can be photographed, scanned and interpreted by a smartphone, in a way to better and quicker access to a website. The function of scanning comes into play with smartphones bearing cameras, allowing users to quickly access websites refered to in the code.

Putting a QR barcode on Facebook, may be a new strategy to popularise usage of the social networking website on smartphones, changing the way in which it is used right now.

While many companies have been over the last decade, using QR codes to make access to their products or services easier for the user, the appearence of a Facebook QR barcode means that the website is trying to work on the possibilities of using the technology alongside its services. People are still waiting for an official announcement from Facebook on the same.