ABC News and Facebook have entered a formal partnership to deliver political news through the social network.

Facebook’s politics section will carry live debates and allow users contribute to surveys, discussions, polling, as well as accessing ABC News videos and headlines on the site.

Facebook devotees will also be able to offer support to political candidates and follow ABC News reporters on the network.

Away from the dedicated news page, an application will let you access all this information from your profile page.

I particularly like the reporter’s mini-feed that seems to be a mishmash of formal reporting and on-the-fly uploads and updates.

ABC News isn’t the first news provider to get in on the social media phenomenon. The New York Times has a presence on Facebook and the Washington Post has dedicated some serious time to developing applications.

However, ABC’s move looks to have significant depth and resonance about it.

To highlight the partnership, claims the New York Times, the two companies will announce today that they are jointly sponsoring Democratic and Republican presidential debates in New Hampshire on January 5.

“There are debates going on at all times within Facebook,” David Westin, the president of ABC News, told the Times.

“This allows us to participate in those debates, both by providing information and by learning from the users.”