Facebook Lite is closed down

Facebook Lite, a stripped down version of the service, has been shut down after running for just seven months.

In a statement, Facebook said: "Thanks to everyone who tried out Facebook Lite. We're no longer supporting it, but learned a lot from the test of a slimmed-down site."

"If you used Lite, you'll now be taken to the main Facebook.com site," it added.

Aimed at people with poor internet connections, Facebook Lite arrived in the UK in September 2009, after being announced in the summer.

No reasons were given as to why it has been shut down.

Facebook continues to dominate the social networking market, regardless of Lite's closure. Figures from Experian Hitwise have shown that of all the 7,473 social networking and forum websites involved in its study, Facebook took 52.55 per cent of visits in the week ending March 27.

In comparison, Twitter received 2.02 per cent of visits and Bebo, which is soon to be sold or shut down by AOL, took 1.62 per cent.

Tom Brewster is currently an associate editor at Forbes and an award-winning journalist who covers cyber security, surveillance, and privacy. Starting his career at ITPro as a staff writer and working up to a senior staff writer role, Tom has been covering the tech industry for more than ten years and is considered one of the leading journalists in his specialism.

He is a proud alum of the University of Sheffield where he secured an undergraduate degree in English Literature before undertaking a certification from General Assembly in web development.