Last call for virtual flowers, Facebook closing Gift Shop

Send out those virtual birthday cakes and flowers now - Facebook is closing its Gift Shop.

Jared Morgenstern, Facebook's product manager for games and credits, said the Gift Shop would shut down on August 1 so the social networking site can "focus instead on improving other products."

"Closing the Gift Shop may disappoint many of the people who have given millions of gifts, but we made the decision after careful thought about where we need to focus our product development efforts," he said in a blog post.

"We'll be able to focus more on improving and enhancing products and features that people use every day, such as Photos, News Feed, Inbox, games, comments, the 'Like' button and the Wall," he said.

Morgenstern said Facebook users will no longer be able to give new gifts from August 1 but gifts that have been received will remain visible on a user's page.

The Gift Shop, which was launched in 2007, offers dozens of virtual presents at a cost of one dollar each which users purchase using Facebook Credits.

Morgenstern said Facebook users can continue to use third-party applications on the site to offer gifts.