FACEBOOK 'DOWNVOTE'BUTTON IN NEW TEST

Facebook is now new testing its"downvote button"in NEW ZEALAND,following a smilar trial which took place in the US in FEBRUARY.

The BBC understands that there are no immediate plans to roll it out across the social network.

Discussion site Reddit has a successful "downvote" option that reduces the visibility of unpopular posts.

Facebook said the button was being tested to see whether it enabled "better public discussions".

"Our hope is that this feature will make it easier for us to create such spaces, by ranking the comments that readers believe deserve to rank highest, rather than the comments that get the strongest emotional reaction," said a spokesman.

The tech giant added that the button is not a "dislike(negative impression)" button.

While the new trial is geographically taking place in New Zealand, some Facebook users in Australia have also reported seeing it.

CNet said that colleagues in its Sydney-based office could see the button "on certain public pages that were created in Australia, and only on Facebook's mobile app".