Facebook goes from zero to $10bn in three years

It is the scourge of middle managers, who fear their employees spend too much time using it, and beloved by people with a penchant for gaining new friends and indulging in internet Scrabble.

Now Facebook, the phenomenally popular social networking site, is at the centre of financial speculation, which, if it comes to fruition could value a company set up three years ago by a Harvard dropout at a staggering $10bn (£5bn).

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is poised to buy a 5% stake in the firm for between $300m and $500m. That would make Facebook worth up to $10bn in all and turn its founder Mark Zuckerberg, 23, into one of the wealthiest men in California's Silicon Valley.