Facebook is finally preparing to release its official application for the Apple iPad after almost a year in development, according to reports.

The New York Times claims that the app has been through several different design iterations, but is now nearly ready to go, with founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg heavily involved in the process.

The app, which has been meticulously optimised for the the Apple tablet, completely revamps the Facebook Chat and Facebook Groups portions of the site, according to the NYT's inside source.

Photos will also appear full-screen and in high-resolution and iPad 2 owners will be able to use the device's camera in order to take and upload pictures directly to their profiles.