'Time' Picks Facebook Founder As Person Of The Year

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook, at a May 2010 press conference in California

Social-networking giant Facebook's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has been named "Time" magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2010.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian national, won the readers' choice vote but was not the final choice of the magazine's editors.

"Time" describes its award as recognizing "the most powerful individuals and forces shaping the world."

Last year, the publication picked Ben Bernanke, head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

In 2008, the magazine chose U.S. President Barack Obama.

compiled from agency reports