For those of you who dropped in from another planet, like our dear mascot, let me introduce the latest buzz in social media sites - Facebook. What is it? Its a social networking site, rather like orkut, where you get linked up virtually with all the friends and family who are online. Then you do message them and chat, just like orkut.

What is not like orkut is the third party facebook applications that you get to use. These include all kinds of things from giving your friends a virtual hug, smile, wink, and just about any action your mind can think up of.  Then there are the games. Free online games which you can play with your whole friend group enmass. One of the most popular online games on facebook is Farmville.

Farmville, as the name suggests, involves a virtual farm where you are the farmer. You grow crops and harvest them. You plant trees and pluck the fruit when ready. You adopt animals like the pig, cow, sheep, duck and horse to mention a few. Then get milk from the cows and eggs from the hens and wool from the sheep and so on and so forth. You get the idea.

You also have to mange the coins that you earn and use to buy fresh seeds for your next crop.Then depending on your level of mastery of the game you are allowed to expand your farm to be able to accommodate more things. In time you get eligible to buy a harvester, a tractor, a seeder and fuel to run them all. Fuel is bought by the virtual farm cash which is different from the coins.

There is also a provision to buy coins and cash with real dollars if you don't have the patience to earn them from the harvesting of many crops. Or if you have enough money to play around with! Then there are special gold coins of mastery that you dig up occassionaly. These help you advance faster through the game. As do more neighbours which is what your friends are.

You can even send gifts to your friends which include all the trees and animals and even white washed fences. Setting up the farm with buidlings like tool houses, tree houses, a farm house, a well, and just about any farm related thing you can think of is great fun. You can play around with bales of hay that are green and yellow in color as well.

It is a truly addictive game which is interactive with your friends. You get to visit their farms and help out there. This earns you some coins and also some experience or mastery points. You also pick up some points about how they are setting up their farms. It has something special for every one from a four year old to a grandma. No wonder Farmville is so popular with social groups of all ages.