Sandor Panton, who designed 'Jamaican Jokes' the first Jamaican-branded application on Facebook.com, is reporting that over 5,000 people have installed it on the social networking website, since becoming available two weeks ago.

Jamaican Jokes simply delivers a new joke to your Facebook page each day. But for Panton it's more serious than that. Since Facebook admitted the application - one of many the website encourages programmers to submit - traffic on his JamaicanJokes.com website has since increased by 50 per cent.

Others should also consider using Facebook to boost their businesses, online or otherwise, believes the founder of the website-directory Top5Jamaica.com.

"Firstly Facebook allows you on the application page to add your own advertisement but the main thing is that it will drive more traffic to your site." he said. "Facebook definitely has more of a yuppie crowd (than MySpace.com), it's clean and more professional and business-wise I've been able to make links with people from and outside of Jamaica."

His success is unsurprising given the local popularity of Facebook, which has over 27,000 people registered to its 'Jamaica network', and has had to be blocked in some workplaces as increasing numbers of employees carry on their social activities via the site during working hours.

More sophisticated than the already popular Hi5.com, Facebook adds 250,000 new users daily, growing faster than MySpace, which is the world's most popular social networking site, used as an online promotional vehicle by many Jamaican entertainers.