Facebook friends take on new meaning as hookers are said to be flocking to social networking site

After studying the habits of 290 sex workers, Sudhir Venkatesh found that 83% rely on Facebook to lure johns.

It's a friend request with benefits - but it isn't for free.

New York hookers are flocking to Facebook to advertise their services, a Columbia University sociologist says.

After studying the habits of 290 sex workers, Sudhir Venkatesh found that 83% rely on Facebook to lure johns.

"I estimate that by the end of 2011, Facebook will be the leading online recruitment space," Venkatesh wrote in the February issue of Wired magazine.

Even a quick search of the uber-popular social networking site reveals a trove of sex-charged profiles.

"I'm a full Gfe [girlfriend experience] provider," wrote "Molly Ravish" on her page, which features a picture of a young blond woman in lingerie.

"For a list of my services go to [my website]."

Ravish's personal Web page offers titillating photos and a detailed description of her services: $200 for an hour of passion, including "deep french kissing" and oral sex - and $150 for 30 minutes.

"Succulent, sweet, and dripping with charm, I beleive [sic] you will find me to be seductive, sensuous, and enticing," her website says.

Among Ravish's favorite quotations listed on Facebook are several sexually suggestive phrases.

"Remember my name ... you'll be screaming it later," reads one.

Other pages owned by local sex workers are less risque - but just as easy to find.

On her profile, "Beva Langoria" listed her employer as "independent escort" and provided an in-depth physical description.

"Hispanic, caramel soft skin, no tattoos or piercings, long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, height 5'3", 125-pound, beautiful smile," reads the note on her page.

For those who are interested, Langoria included her educational background (Fordham University class of 2011) and her religious views (open).

Venkatesh says Facebook offers prostitutes a bevy of perks.

The site allows hookers to "control their image, set their prices, and sidestep some of the pimps, madams, and other intermediaries who once took a share of the revenue."

In 2008, Facebook accounted for 25% of the regular clients served by the women Venkatesh followed.

Top NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the findings aren't too surprising. "Everybody is using the Internet," he said.

Still, not all sex workers are using Facebook - at least not yet.

A 32-year-old escort told the Daily News she would never advertise her services on Mark Zuckerberg's site.

"It's a place for teenagers to socialize, to play games, to meet friends - not a place for some dumb ass to find a piece of ass," declared the escort, who asked to remain anonymous.

Facebook is not the only site grappling with the prostitute problem. Even after shutting down its "Adult Services" section last September, craigslist is rife with ads from women offering sex for cash.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the site comes down hard on anyone who uses it for illegal ends.

Photo from Molly Ravish's website.