At the moment, Google Offers doesn’t actually offer any actual offers: it’s accepting signups from Portlanders who’ll actually be able to buy stuff at some later date. Google is claiming discounts will reach 50 per cent for products, restaurants and attractions.

And in what looks like a game of tit-for-tat announcements, Facebook is test-launching Facebook Deals in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego and San Francisco.

The New York Times story announcing the launch was originally embargoed, but in an accident noted by Techcrunch it was published ahead of time (then pulled down, then put back up).