Social networking giant Facebook has unveiled its new friends list system that would allow users to categorize groups of friends more easily.

According to the BBC, Facebook's updated 'Friend Lists system', is seen as a reaction to the Circles feature on Google+.

Users would now have better control over how their connections are grouped, with some lists, such as work and family, created automatically.

According to the report, the new Smart Lists feature will create categories based on the relationship between a user and their friends.

Now, new "close friends" and "acquaintances" lists would allow users to filter who they see updates from.

The changes appear to be aimed at users who are attracted by the ability to create groups using Google Circles.

Presently, Facebook remains the world''s most popular social network, but Google+ is expected to hit 100 million users this year.