Facebook launches in Persian, to connect Iranian speaking people across the world.

Today (19 June), Facebook has launched a Persian translation of the social networking site – the native language of Iran, in order to make communication easier, as commentary about the recent Iranian elections continues.

Previously, people had to navigate the site in English or other languages, but Eric Kwan, Facebook Blogger wrote in his blog: “Today we’re making the entire site available in a beta version of Persian, so Persian speakers inside of Iran and around the world can begin using it in their native language.”

The Iranian elections, held last week and won by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have been surrounded by controversy, with the opposition party and supporters calling for a new election. Demonstrators have been protesting in the Iranian capital, Tehran, throughout the week, leading to some violent outbreaks.

According to Mr Kwan, the announcement is in response to the notion that people around the world have increasingly been sharing news and information about the election results and its aftermath, and have been doing so in Persian.

The blogger thanked the 400 Persian speakers who submitted individual translations, without which it may not have been turned around so quickly.

Hundreds of comments have already been left on the blog congratulating Facebook on the new service, including one from Golshan Aghanori, who said: “Finally. I have been waiting for facebook in persian to come for such a long time,” and Reza Jamshidi, who commented: “Thanks Facebook team, we appreciate for your helps.”

A few comments, however, accuse Facebook of trying to exploit the situation.