Angry Birds Goes Online, New “Space” Version Releasing March 22

Green pigs everywhere better watch out—Angry Birds is rising to new heights.

The wildly popular game was the most-downloaded mobile app of 2011, but Finnish maker Rovio intends to grow its player base to 1 billion users through a new Facebook version of the game, released Tuesday. The launch occurred in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world’s most Facebook-connected city.

The Angry Birds Facebook app isn’t the first version to appear on desktop computers; it has been available in Google’s Chrome browser and the Mac App Store for quite some time. However, Facebook integration will bring the game to the social network’s 845 million users, opening a huge new market for Rovio. The Facebook version allows players to share high scores and send gifts to friends, embracing the social aspect of the website to increase exposure.

Rovio also recently announced that the next version of Angry Birds will put users in space, flinging colorful birds in zero-gravity. A teaser on the game’s website reads, “One small fling for a bird, one quantum leap for birdkind,” and the release will occur on March 22. It is not clear whether Angry Birds Space will be available on Facebook as well, but there’s no reason for it not to be.