The deal, for an undisclosed amount, will enable Facebook to provide its services to customers who have basic mobile phones.

The acquisition comes a week after Facebook announced that it had hired Amin Zoufanoun, a former director of corporate development at Google, to head up its merger and acquisition efforts

A statement on Snaptu’s website reads: ‘Earlier this year, we announced the launch of a new Facebook application to give people a great mobile experience on a broad range of feature phones.

‘We soon decided that working as part of the Facebook team offered the best opportunity to keep accelerating the pace of our product development. Joining Facebook means we can make an even bigger impact on the world.’

Facebook has not yet commented on the acquisition.

The purchase by Facebook comes two weeks after it acquired US-based messaging business Beluga, which was set up by former Google employees.