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RIM surprised many a couple of weeks ago with the welcome introduction of an application to access Facebook from a BlackBerry. The blog BBGeeks.com has posted a comprehensive overview of this software. If you're interested in downloading Facebook to your BlackBerry, you may want to check it out first.

Keep in mind, RIM's Facebook app is initially only available to T-Mobile customers. And the software only supports devices running on BlackBerry OS 4.2 or greater.

It should ship with the new BlackBerry Pearl 8130 when it becomes available from Verizon and Sprint later this month, however. After all, the version of this new BlackBerry offered by Telus in Canada has it.

In addition to RIM's standard array of push e-mail and personal information management software, the new BlackBerry will be pre-loaded with RIM's new Facebook application, which allow you to tag and upload images, poke and message your Facebook friends, add new friends, check the status of your friends, etc.

Here's some of things you can do with Facebook for BlackBerry:

With it, Facebook users can wirelessly send and view messages, photos, pokes and Wall posts. And, as with BlackBerry-based e-mail, Facebook notifications are pushed to the user's smartphone. It also allows users to take a picture, upload it to Facebook with captions and tags; send out invitations to friends; as well as manage events, photo albums, and status.

The Facebook application isn't browser based. Rather, it runs directly on a BlackBerry, which is more efficient and allows RIM to better integrate the new software into its BlackBerry architecture.

As for Facebook, it is the number two social networking destination, behind MySpace, and falls well within the top ten for all sites on the Web.