Facebook is updating its status from a private to public company.
The shift is occurring as the internet social network filed its long-awaited plans for an initial public offering of stock.
The documents filed on Wednesday say Facebook hopes to raise $US5 billion ($A4.72 billion) in its IPO. That would be the most for an internet IPO since Google and its early backers raised $US1.9 billion in 2004.
The final amount is likely to change during the next three to four months as Facebook's bankers gauge investor demand.
The IPO marks another major milestone for a Harvard-born startup that began as an online college hangout eight years ago. Since then, it has become a cultural touchstone that has transformed the way everyone from doting grandmas to sassy teenagers share information about their lives.
