Facebook has activated its new profile layout on a "hidden" page for testing purposes. The new layout, pictured below, is considerably cleaner than the old one, with lots of white space and partitioning of information across several tabs.

The extensive use of whitespace will make it much easier for users to find the data they want. The "wall" is given its own tab and is much more like the standard News Feed, incorporating friend notices, comments, and standard wall scribbles. Most items are can me commented on within the feed, like FriendFeed (though this went live on the old layout a few weeks ago). Contact and demographic information is stuffed in the "Info" tab, along with Fan and Groups. Photos get their own tab too.

Facebook Applications have been dumped in the oddly named "Boxes" tab. Facebook developers won't be too pleased about that development. Their apps have been taken from the main page that everyone sees when they log in, and relegated to the literal "back page". It will be interesting to see how dev's respond -- while everyone is trying to increase engagement and Facebook is making it dramatically more difficult to do so.

To see the new profile live, check out www.new.facebook.com/profile.php

UPDATE! The live preview has now been blocked, just minutes after I was first sent this link.

See the before and after below, and click to get a larger version.