Now Facebook users can send their friends actual gifts, rather than virtual ones, with the social networks recently unveiled Facebook Gifts that will add an entirely new revenue stream for the company.

The new service, revealed Thursday that lets users select, pay for and post gifts to their friends within Facebook will begin a slow roll-out in the U.S.

Facebook has launched the service with a large selection of products, partnering with about 100 retailers who handle the shipping that include clothing, food, stuffed animals, Starbucks vouchers and more. The monetary transactions are handled by Facebook’s payment platform where users can opt to pay immediately or at a later stage.

Once the gift has been purchased, the receiver is notified through their mobile phone or desktop that something special is on its way. Once the gift has been signed for, the sender then receives a notification that it has been received. Depending on what it is, the gift can even be exchanged for another size or colour.

Source: All Things D