A tabloid story threw some Facebook users into a panic over the weekend by suggesting that the popular social networking site's days are numbered.

Facebook, in turn, has assured users that it's not going anywhere.

The story on the Weekly World News site quoted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as saying, "Facebook has gotten out of control and the stress of managing this company has ruined my life. I need to put an end to all the madness."

The story pegged the site's shutdown date at March 15. Many of the more than 10,000 commenters on the story were skeptical, while some expressed concern and others said they wished Facebook would just go away.

Facebook assured users in a wall post that rumors of its demise were greatly exaggerated: "We didn't get the memo about shutting down, so we'll keep working away like always."

Other stories up on the Weekly World News site Monday declared "Glenn Beck moving to China!" and "Alien spaceships to attack Earth in 2011."

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-- Abby Sewell

Photo:  Mark Zuckerberg. Credit: Jeff Chiu / Associated Press