This Advent, the Church of England has blessed a selection of virtual Christmas cards to be released on social networking site Facebook.

The Church has given the specially designed cards to Facebook in recognition that social networking websites are increaslingly important in the way people communicate, socialise and express their identity.

The cards are an opportunity for Christians to share their faith this Christmas with fellow Facebookers.

The cards are based on religious themes and can be sent with a personalised message. Any of the seven million registered users of Facebook in the UK can freely use the cards, and will also be able to find more information about their local churches and explore the Christian faith.

The cards were created in collaboration with London-based web design agency Rechord, who specialise in social networking and web design applications for charities.

The card designs have colorful animations showing parts of the nativity story including the journey of the three wise men.

The Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Pete Broadbent, is one of many clergy members and parishioners with a page on Facebook.

He said the cards were "a brilliant idea" and that the Church needed to use websites like Facebook "to reach out to as many people as possible".

"Christmas gives us the perfect opportunity to get the Christian message across even to those who think religion is scary, outmoded or pointless," he said.

"These virtual cards are a simple idea but I hope they capture the imaginations of Christians across the country who want to spread the life-changing message of their faith among their friends."

Last year the Church of England released an online Advent calender which was also developed by Rechord. Behind each window the calender shared real life stories of what Christmas meant to people across the country.