Facebook has shrugged off the privacy concerns surrounding the social networking site, as it gave notice of its intention to target advertisements increasingly according to the data that its users plug into the site.

Owen Van Natta, the company’s chief revenue officer, said that the site would be adding new advertising features in coming weeks in an effort to boosts sales. Facebook regards making adverts more personal a priority, he said.

The comments came as Facebook confirmed that it was setting up an office in the UK, its fastest-growing market, in the heart of Soho in London.

Asked about last week’s decision by Facebook to make basic details — including names and photographs — of its users accessible through search engines including Google, Chris Kelly, the company’s chief privacy officer, noted that information posted on alternative sites was already “completely discoverable”.

Senior Facebook executives have consistently argued that the way people can manage personal data has changed fundamentally in the internet era — and that people can no longer hope to remain anonymous online, only to control how much is known about them by the web at large.

Mr Kelly added: “We have always said that information [submitted by users] may be used to target adverts”.

He added that Facebook feels confident that better-targeted advertising will be welcomed by its community.

Mr Kelly said that Facebook saw no tension between the pressure to keep data private and commercial imperatives.

The move to open up the site had been seen as a bid to boost traffic levels.

Facebook, launched two years ago, claims about 40 million “active users” and says that it is adding 200,000 more a day.

“The number of users is doubling every six months, and that growth is entirely organic,” Mr Van Natta said.

The privately owned group would not give any details on its financial performance.

Analysts have suggested that the group will make a profit of only $30 million (£15 million) this year on revenues of $150 million — levels likely to be considered disappointing given its user base.

The network is regarded as a potential goldmine to advertisers because it contains a host of data on its users, such as their birthdate, interests, events they plan to attend, holidays and musical tastes, as well as numerous photographs.

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