Angry Birds flies beak-first into Facebook

Good news for anyone who loves Facebook and loves gaming, but hates Zynga’s slew of social titles. Angry Birds has arrived on the world’s most popular social network.

For the most part, the Facebook version of Angry Birds is the same game anyone who’s played it on their smartphones, tablets or Chrome web browser knows and loves — Kamikaze birds, devious pigs, and destructible scenery.

Rovio has, however, added a few social elements for this particular iteration. People can, for instance, now challenge their friends for crowns. There are also new power ups (which people can “gift” their friends with if they want) and exclusive Facebook levels.

Since going live in 2009, Angry Birds has been downloaded well over 500-million times. Mashable reports that Rovio is looking to go public later this year. According to CMO Peter Vesterbacka the company is now valued at over US$1-billion.

In an official press release the company claimed that launch event alone had 200 000 fans, so expect Angry Birds Facebook to have similar success to all the other versions.