A new feature that allows users to include friend' photos in messages just made Facebook chat a little cooler.

The gimmick, which has some Facebook chatters thinking they may never use an emoticon again, is simple to use and brings a personal touch to the social networking site.

The concept is very basic: rather than mentioning a friend or company by name, you can simply include their face or the company's profile shot in a small thumbnail form.

Here's how to send profile photos in Facebook chat:

Step 1: Send a chat message to a friend.

Step 2: Determine a shared friend or company's profile ID. This is the assigned code or chosen name that identifies a Facebook page, and it is found at the end of the URL for the profile itself.

Step 2: To include a shared friend's profile photo or the icon used on a company's page, simply type two open brackets [[ then paste their profile ID, followed by two closed brackets ]] and send the message and you're done.

For example: to include the logo included as the profile photo for the Facebook page of ESPN, you would type [[ESPN]].

And that's it. Chat away!

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