Facebook 'Friends' Google Chrome OS Creator With New Gig

That's essentially what Matthew Papakipos, Google engineering director and key player in the Mountain View search giant's development of its Chrome operating system (OS) and WebGL projects, said on Twitter yesterday.

Papakipos tweeted on Monday that he made the leap from Google to Facebook, where he will take on the role of director of engineering.

"Now that Chrome OS & WebGL are in good shape, it's time for something new. I'm going to work [at] Facebook! Love the product and team. Woot!," Papakipos tweeted.

Papakipos is the latest in a string of Google vets wooed away by Facebook. Recently, Facebook brought on Google Nexus One product manager Erick Tseng.

Papakipos' jumping ship is also the most recent development in the continuing battle between the two tech powerhouses. Earlier this year, Google looked to unseat Facebook as the social media king with its launch of social networking platform Google Buzz. And Google's Chrome OS plays a critical role in Google's fight to stay ahead of Facebook. Chrome OS evolved out of Google's Chrome Web browser and is a new operating system that puts applications in the browser.

Along with playing a vital role in Google's Chrome OS development, Papakipos also worked on the WebGL 3D graphics API for Web browsers. He had worked for Google since 2007 and, according to his LinkedIn profile, also held positions with Nvidia and PeakStream.

Along with bringing aboard Papakipos, Facebook yesterday also said that seven-year VMware veteran Jocelyn Goldfein has joined the Facebook fold. Goldfein was most recently vice president and general manager of VMware's Desktop Business Unit.

"We've landed two accomplished, senior people to join the Facebook engineering team — Matthew Papakipos and Jocelyn Goldfein," Facebook said in a statement. "Both are about as accomplished as they come and we can't wait for them to hit the ground running as key players on the team."

Facebook bulking up its engineering team and swiping away Google talent comes as rumors swirl that Google is looking to launch a Facebook competitor with a service dubbed "Google Me," according to a report in The Times of India .