FACEBOOK said it would share details for its new server systems and computer rooms with other companies, hoping to set off what it characterised as an open movement for hardware design.

Many tech companies, such as Google, keep key details about their computing infrastructure confidential. But Facebook said it will publish technical specifications for a new data centre it built from scratch in Prineville, Oregon -- including details of the computers, power supplies, server racks, battery backup systems and building design.

Facebook's move, which it compared to the movement to spur innovation through open-source software, comes as power and energy consumption have emerged as key hurdles for many high-tech companies. Facebook, at an event at its Palo Alto, California, headquarters, said systems it developed for its new Prineville operation are 38 per cent more energy-efficient and 24 per cent more cost-effective than the machines the social-networking giant has been using.

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