Facebook could be heading for a record stock flotation after unveiling plans to sell shares to the public, with the site hoping to raise five billion US dollars.
In what is expected to be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) from an internet company, it would be the highest figure since Google Inc raised $1.9bn in 2004.
Eight years after its inception, the company now has 845 million monthly users worldwide and last year made a profit of one billion dollars.
Registration documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also revealed that 27-year-old founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns 28.4 per cent of Facebook.
The documents make clear that he will retain majority control of the business after the flotation and will be paid a reduced salary of one dollar from January 2013.
In a personal letter, Mr Zuckerberg stressed that the site's "social mission" was to "make the world more open and connected".
He added: "We're going public for our employees and our investors. We made a commitment to them when we gave them equity that we'd work hard to make it worth a lot and make it liquid, and this IPO is fulfilling our commitment."
The filing with the SEC highlights Facebook's meteoric growth since it was first dreamed up in a Harvard University bedroom in 2004.
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