Apple App Store app launches on Facebook

No, Apple isn't making Facebook apps. They've launched the App Store within a Facebook app. As the LA Times reports, the App Store app/fan page was created by Apple and Vitrue, a social media company, and allows Facebook users to browse the App Store's 170,000+ apps from right in Facebook. When Facebook users find an app they like, they simply click the "Get App" button and are taken to the App Store in iTunes. The App Store Facebook page first launched a little over two weeks ago, but this is the first we've heard of Vitrue's involvement.

From a viral marketing perspective, the best feature of this App Store in Facebook app is the "Share" button that sits next to every app. When a Facebook user finds an app they like, they can simply click the "Share" button and post a link to that app on their wall, or send a link to the app as a message. This mimics the functionality of the "Share" buttons seen throughout Facebook. With iTunes 9, Apple introduced a "Share on Facebook" menu drop down option for all its content.

As of this writing, the App Store Facebook app has over 82,000 fans.
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