Facebook introduces 360-degree photos

Social media giant Facebook on Thursday introduced a new feature that enables users upload and view 360-degrees photos right in the News Feed, a media report said.

"Along with 360 photos from your friends and family, you can discover stunning new 360 photos on Facebook from public figures, publishers, and other organizations," technology website The Verge quoted Andy Huang, product manager, Facebook, as saying.

"360 photos give you the ability to take the stage in front of 100,000 fans with Paul McCartney, get behind-the-scenes access to the Supreme Court via The New York Times, visit the International Space Station with NASA, and more," he said.

After capturing a panorama or 360-degrees photo with smartphone camera or a third-party app, users can now post the photo directly to the social network, where it will be converted into an image that can be viewed on desktop or any smartphone, the report added.

Users will be able to identify the photos by the compass icon floating on the upper right hand corner of the image.

All they need to do is click and drag on the image to explore the complete environment, or simply move their smartphone around.