Facebook announces alliance with Uber to allow users to summon cars from within Messenger app

Facebook has announced an alliance with Uber that lets people summon cars from the ride sharing service using the Messenger smartphone application.

At the moment the new feature is only available to users in the United States, but Facebook said more countries would get access soon.

The partnership was a major move for both California firms, further expanding Facebook's stand-alone messaging service beyond simply communicating and putting Uber in a social network-backed application with some 700 million users.

"With this new feature, you can request a ride from a car service without ever needing to download an extra app or leave a conversation," product manager Seth Rosenberg said in a blog post.

"It's super easy and doesn't take you away from the plans that you're making with your friends or family."

Uber was described as the first partner in the launch of "transportation on Messenger," leaving the door open to add Uber rivals as options for users of the smartphone messaging service.

People can access the feature by tapping a "transportation" menu tab during text message exchanges or can enter Uber as a search query, according to Facebook.

Updates on the status of drivers will be delivered in Messenger, and friends can be notified that a ride has been summoned.

"With the ability to request, track and pay for a ride in Messenger, we're making transportation as simple as sending a message," Rosenberg said.

Facebook made Messenger an independent mobile application nearly two years ago and has steadily woven new capabilities into the service.

Last month, Facebook began letting users in France send vanishing missives with Messenger application, ramping up the challenge to Snapchat.

Facebook earlier this year began testing a Messenger app virtual assistant that the leading social network said goes beyond artificial intelligence programs already on the market.