Britney Spears kicks off celebrity merchandizing on Facebook

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Britney Spears’ virtual icons, now on sale at Facebook. Credit: www.britneyspears.com.

The first celebrity gifts on Facebook are now on sale, and who is at the forefront of this e-commerce revolution? Britney, of course.

The pop star Britney Spears, who is described on her blog as an ‘international icon,’ has loaned her likeness or related images to a series of virtual gifts that Facebook users can send to one another.

A couple of them show her singing, a couple others show her on-stage outfits and one perhaps hints at a political message by showing a rainbow-colored balloon labeled ‘Britney Pride’ (Spears has spoken out in support of gay marriage).

According to the Britney blog, all of the gift symbols were designed by Susan Kare. Back in the 1980s, Kare designed some of the original Macintosh computer icons, including the famous one with the smiling computer face.

Except for one of the Britney gifts that is free, the others cost $2, apiece, to obtain and send. All are limited editions, although you probably don’t have to rush over to the site right away. The ‘Happy Birthday’ symbol with Britney’s signature is available to the first 500,000 buyers.

-- David Colker