Facebook plays OpenID relay (with Gmail)

Facebook has started its implementation of OpenID with the first phase allowing new users to register with their Gmail accounts. Current users can connect Facebook with other OpenID accounts. 

The social networking site joined OpenID's board in February. 

In a blog post, Facebook said:

Now, users can register for Facebook using their Gmail accounts. This is a quicker, more streamlined way for new users to register for the site, find their friends, and start exploring.

Existing and new users can now link their Facebook accounts with their Gmail accounts or with accounts from those OpenID providers that support automatic login. Once a user links his or her account with a Gmail address or an OpenID URL, logs in to that account, then goes to Facebook, that user will already be logged in to Facebook.

In tests we've run, we've noticed that first-time users who register on the site with OpenID are more likely to become active Facebook users. They get up and running after registering even faster than before, find their friends easily, and quickly engage on the site.

Facebook said that it plans to integrate more OpenID providers in the future.