Facebook launches new "Places" check-in service

Facebook introduced an often-rumored check in feature last night with it's new "Places" service. The service is similar to other offerings like Foursquare, allowing you to check in at different places. What makes Places different is that you can tag friends that are with you (definitely want to make sure your friends don't tag you when you're playing hooky from work). Also, after you check in at a destination, you can check and see your friends who have checked in at the same place.

Instead of directly competing with established competitors in the check-in game, Facebook is partnering with Foursquare and Gowalla, and will also be partnering with Yelp.

Unfortunately, Places isn't available in all areas yet. When we tried to test it on our iPhone it stated that it would be available in our region soon.We're assuming it's up and ready in more metropolitan areas, and we hope they'll expand quickly. Let us know in the comments if it's not available in your area yet.

On a side note, the update to the iPhone app added background photo and video uploading for devices running iOS 4, which is sure to also be a welcome feature for many users.

[Facebook]