Psst - wannabe a Facebook virtual currency tester?

Facebook posted a set of small announcements on its developer blog Wednesday, most notably a call for alpha testers for the virtual currency platform that it's finally launching after much speculation.

"We are currently conducting an alpha test in which select applications can accept Facebook Credits from users," the post wrote. "Our 250 million users can now buy Facebook Credits in 15 currencies and we believe that, as Facebook Credits become more broadly available on Platform, they will meaningfully improve developer monetization and provide a great experience for users."

Interested developers are encouraged to contact Facebook.

Facebook has also announced that developers who want to advertise the applications they have built to run on its platform, which it originally launched over two years ago, now have a new option. They can opt to target their ad to users who are (or aren't) connected to one of their applications already: to encourage existing users to try a new app from the same developer, for example, or to court totally new users.

Huge businesses have already been built atop the developer platform: in fact, some reliable assessments have concluded that, at least for now, the apps on the platform combined make more money than Facebook itself.

Original article: Facebook calls for payment platform testers from CNET News.com