Facebook Begins Testing Local Deals, Competing with Groupon

Facebook announced this evening it is ready to begin testing its new local deals offering–the social-networking giant’s effort to cash in on the feverish interest in social buying. First revealed in March, Facebook Deals offers members local deals they can buy and share them with their friends on the network. The test will launch tomorrow in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco, but may be expanded to include other cities, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said in statement today.