The New York Times has increased its connection with Facebook, announcing a new option that connects a reader's Times activities directly with his or her Facebook activities.

See the announcement below:

NEW YORK, August 31, 2010 - The New York Times has added another social layer to NYTimes.com with its Log In With Facebook feature, which enables users to link their NYTimes.com and Facebook accounts to recommend and comment, and see the activity their friends choose to share on NYTimes.com.

“Log In With Facebook is the next step in our commitment to the social element of our business - further allowing our readers to share and connect around our content,” said Denise Warren, senior vice president and chief advertising officer, The New York Times Media Group and general manager, NYTimes.com. “With this feature, we are delivering a more engaging, personalized experience on NYTimes.com, and our readers can expect more on this front in the coming months.”

Log In With Facebook is an opt-in feature. To view personalized content, users must connect their Facebook and NYTimes.com accounts, which will allow them to share articles from NYTimes.com with their Facebook friends on the site and on Facebook. For these users, the NYTimes.com home page and article pages will highlight the most popular Times content within Facebook and the user's network of friends - including comments and recommendations. NYTimes.com users who choose not to connect their accounts will see an aggregate of the most popular Times content within Facebook.

As part of this integration, share tools will be enhanced to allow users to recommend and comment on Times news and features directly from NYTimes.com to Facebook.