Facebook profiles to go public?

Facebook Inc, the social-network site that has enjoyed explosive growth in new members over the past three months, said it plans to let users tell the rest of the world how to find them on the site.The function will initially allow anyone who is not registered with the site to search for a specific person.
By publicizing member profiles, Facebook could attract a new wave of users. Unlike most sites on the Web, Facebook has previously denied access by search services to information on the site.
In a few weeks, Facebook will also make the information accessible via search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN Live, said Facebook engineer Philip Fung in the blog post.
Users who don't want their listings to become public can opt out by changing their Search Privacy settings. Listings will only appear in outside searches if users' search settings are set to "Everyone."
Facebook began life as a way of keeping US college students in touch with each other. Devised by Harvard drop-out Mark Zuckerberg, the site now accounts for 1% of all net traffic and is the sixth most visited site in the US.