New program will let you convert reward points into in-game items

Yesterday's launch of the f8 Facebook Developers conference was full of a lot of talk about social graphs and APIs and HTML code and other stuff that's not really of much interest to the average social gamer. But there was one announcement from the first day of the conference that caught our eye -- a new program called App2User that could bring new options for buying in-game items in many popular Facebook games.

Inside Facebook explains that the program will allow companies to offer Facebook credits in exchange for their proprietary reward points -- the kind you get from using certain credit cards, store loyalty cards, frequent flier programs, and the like. Facebook Credits can already be used to purchase items in games like Happy Island, Tiki Resort, Hotel City, as well as Zynga's ultra-popular games. Facebook is currently soliciting App2User applications from interested companies that offer reward points, and is said to be "open to working with a variety of different partners."

Trading one pseudo-currency for another may seem a bit silly to some people -- especially when those rewards points can often be traded for gift cards or cold hard cash -- but for Facebook gamers who spend a lot of money on in-game items, this could be a great way to help reduce the "virtual items" line in your personal budget.