It intends to take a 30 per cent commission on all financial transactions made through the site, The Times claimed .

Zynga, the Californian group behind FarmVille, are reported to be upset by the plans and are rumoured to have threatened to split from Facebook.

If the relationship does end then the future of other Zynga games on Facebook, such as Mafia Wars Fish Ville and Café World, could also be under threat.

FarmVille is played by 83m people a month. Users build a farm and then maintain it, including rearing livestock and tending to crops.

Although it is free to play FarmVille creates money as players can buy virtual items for their farms with real money.