Facebook Launches Pseudo-Anonymous App 'Rooms'

— -- What happens when a bunch of people gather under the cloak of pseudo-anonymity in a virtual chat room?

With the launch of Facebook's new "Rooms" app, the world is about to find out.

The chat room and message board hybrid allows like-minded people to create rooms to discuss niche topics of interest. That could mean everything from nerd culture to that delicious bagel you ate this morning.

While Facebook has a real name policy, Rooms lets users choose any username they want, and their handles can differ for each room they're a member of.

Josh Miller, one of the co-founders of discussion site Branch, which Facebook acquired last year, said Rooms allows people to revel in the sides of themselves that they may not get to show their friends.

"One of the things our team loves most about the internet is its potential to let us be whoever we want to be," he said in a blog post. "This can be liberating, but only if we have places that let us break away from the constraints of our everyday selves. We want the rooms you create to be freeing in this way."

Rooms is available today in the Apple app store for users in the United States and United Kingdom and other English speaking countries, Facebook said.