Facebook rates Opera over Google Chrome

Sparking more fuel for debate between Facebook and Google, the Facebook management team have replaced the search giant’s popular Chrome web browser with the Norwegian backed Opera on their list of supported browsers. This landing page only appears when using unsupported browsers, in particular Google Chrome and suggests that users try Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera instead.

There are two points that initially bring attention to this bold statement. Firstly, Facebook have recently been very keen to add Opera to it's list of acquisitions, since the people behind the browser were actively looking for potential buyers. This comes weeks after the acquisition of Instagram for a cool $1 billion along with the IPO of the goliath social networking site, valuing the company at $104 billion, the largest to date ever for a newly listed company.

Opposed to it's meager 1.77% market share in the desktop browser marker, Opera occupies the largest stake in the mobile market at 22.86%. Facebook also has strong rumors to suggest that a smartphone maybe in the works and plans to tie the possible purchase of Opera within it's development.

The other point to take note of is that last month Google Chrome became the most popular desktop browser of them all, knocking Microsoft's Internet Explorer off the top spot for the first time this millennium. The rivalry between Facebook and Google has been heating up over the past few years, as Google has tried multiple times grasp a strangle hold on the Social Networking market, with the latest offering, Google+ putting up the strongest fight. The decision to remove Chrome from it's list of supported browsers maybe a tongue in cheek attempt by Facebook to question the popularity of the browser, as the saga continues.