Facebook Inc. announced that it may open a sales office in China to support local advertisers who use the social network as a bridge to their international clients.

The Facebook vice president of corporate development, Vaughan Smith, said the company is looking for ways to provide additional support for local advertisers, but he did not reveal the timetable for this plan, according to Reuters.

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However, a Bloomberg report citing a source familiar with the situation said the China sales office could be opened within one year. The report also said the firm is in discussion on whether to rent an office in the Fortune Financial Center in Beijing.

At present, Facebook runs a sales office in Hong Kong that employs 30 to 40 workers who cater to local advertisers as well as those in mainland China, where the site is currently banned.

The opening of the new sales office would put Facebook employees within the boundary of mainland China for the first time.

According to the International Business Times (IBT), Facebook has confirmed the China sales office plans via e-mail.

Facebook has been banned in China since 2009, but the firm has still been serving Chinese customers through its office in Hong Kong to allow them to reach international customers through social network ads.

Bloomberg's source said the social network giant has not yet decided if it will hire full-time workers or contractors for its China sales office.

The social network's plan to open a sales office in China could lead to its reopening in the country. It would also increase its Asian sales significantly.

China's government has been strict on international internet firms with its censorship regulations. Google had stopped operating its search service there in 2010 due to difficulties in complying with the said rules.

Twitter is also blocked in China, while LinkedIn is operating there under a voluntary censorship agreement. Microsoft's Bing search engine in China is censored occasionally upon request of the government.