Going by a TechCrunch report, the simple and streamlined "Lite" version of the popular social networking site Facebook - 'lite. facebook. com' - has become available for users with slow or poor Internet connections in the US and India.

Though the easy-to-use "Lite" offers fewer services than the main Facebook site, CNET's Rafe Needleman opined that the site is apparently perfect for users who may be using Facebook for the first time as well as those who find the main site too boisterous and overwhelming.

Moreover, the new version supports the latest Facebook-connected services; it primarily lacks apps or special boxes. As such, the options on the site are limited to allowing users write on their wall, view events, post photos and videos, and browse other user's profiles.

With all the pages streamlined, "Lite" has become simpler and easier to read; and it loads faster, largely due to HTML optimization.

Saying that the Facebook "Lite" version is more effective as it "strips away distractions," Terence O'Brien at Switched. com remarked: "The simple site loads noticeably faster, is easier to navigate, and is much easier on the eyes thanks to the lack of people sending you 'virtual booze' or asking you to join their 'vampire fraternity.' The new layout seems like a direct challenge to Twitter, which can attribute much of its success to its simplicity and portability."