Facebook Inc (FB): Users Can Now ‘Gift’ Apple Inc. (AAPL) iTunes Content

Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)‘s new gift-giving platform – aptly named Facebook Gifts – has been slowly rolling out to its user base as the holidays draw neigh, and as TechCrunch reported earlier this month, the platform has included a bevy of retailers, from Baby Gap to Hulu Plus. Now Facebookers can add Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to that list.

Courtesy: Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) Photos and B-Roll

Originally announced on Facebook’s newsroom earlier today, the social network will now give its users the ability to “instantly gift your friends iTunes digital gifts and recommend albums, movies, games, apps, and more available on the iTunes Store.” For those friends that are inclined to march to the beat of their own drum, Facebook Gifts also lets users send Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) enthusiasts “iTunes digital gifts [that] are available for $10, $15, $25, or $50” amounts, giving them the option to choose how those e-dollars are spent.

While it’s obvious that Facebook Gifts has solid revenue potential – we may get a hint at just how many cents the service can add to revenue per user figures by the end of the quarter – there’s one thing that most investors are missing. As the Wall Street Journal originally reported last month, the gift-giving platform allows Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) to capture “credit-card data [which] opens up a new range of revenue opportunities,” which all point toward the company becoming a bigger player in the e-retail market sooner rather than later.

This news also brings renewed reasons to be bullish about Apple’s iTunes prospects, which are expected to get a boost from iTunes 11 any day now. We’ve already discussed how the tech company’s newest iteration of its digital music service will have more social connectivity, which is something its Ping platform was lacking. Seeing as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is already responsible for nine out of every ten legal downloads in the world, the chance to get in on the proverbial ‘ground floor’ of Facebook Gifts is a perfect way to launch its newest iTunes.