The U.S. social networking Web site Facebook has purchased the social aggregator FriendFeed for $47.5 million, The Washington Post said Sunday.

The newspaper said Facebook's acquisition of FriendFeed, which can consolidate a user's online social networking activities, marks a step by the company founded in Cambridge, Mass., toward being the dominant force in social networking.

Prior to purchasing FriendFeed, Facebook began attempting to connect social networking services like Twitter and Digg through Facebook Connect.

Facebook Connect allows users to use their Facebook credentials on participating sites, thereby allowing their activities on those sites to be added to their Facebook profile. Nearly 15,000 Web sites currently support Facebook Connect.

The Post said while Facebook Connect serves as a way for Facebook to expand its online reach to thousands of other Web sites, the company's acquisition of FriendFeed will help bring more sites directly to Facebook.