If the poster is thought to be in distress, a series of screens will be launched automatically when that person next logs onto Facebook, with suggestions for getting help, 'UW Today' reported.

The responses link to a number of positive options, including videos from Now Matters Now, an online programme started by Forefront research scientist Ursula Whiteside that uses real-life accounts of people who have struggled with suicidal thoughts to provide research-based coping strategies.

"Often, friends and family who are the observers in this situation don't know what to do," said Holly Hetherington, a Facebook content strategist working on the project.

"They're concerned, but they're worried about saying the wrong thing or somehow making it worse. Socially, mental illness and thoughts about suicide are just not something we talk about," Hetherington said.

Stephen Paul Miller, Forefront's operations manager, said that one advantage of the Facebook tools is that they can be used by anyone: a concerned friend, a grandparent or a colleague.

"You don't need to have a degree to be able to meet somebody where they are in their pain and connect them to a resource," he said. "You just need to know that there's somebody who can help you facilitate that connection, and that's what the Facebook project has the ability to do. This has the potential to save so many lives," Miller said.

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