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(CNN) - Say goodbye to the days when you could only express your emotions through generic sad, happy, angry emojis or thumbs up on Facebook.
Facebook launched its Avatar feature to users in the United States this week, after launching it last year in other countries.
Similar to Snapchat's Bitmoji, the feature allows Facebook users to create a cartoon avatar of themselves. They can use the avatar in comments, Facebook stories and messaging.
"Many of our interactions these days take place online, so it is more important than ever to be able to express yourself personally on Facebook," said Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook application, in a post.
"With so many emotions and expressions to choose from, avatars allow you to react and interact more authentically with family and friends through the app," added Simo.
If you can't wait to try out the new feature, follow the steps below to create your own Facebook avatar. These screenshots were taken in the Facebook app on iOS, but the steps are similar in the Android version.
Step 1: Open the Facebook app on your iOS or Android phone. Then tap the three horizontal lines in the lower right corner of your screen.
Step 2: Go down and tap "See more".
Step 3: Tap "Avatars".
Step 4: Tap "Next" and then "Start."
Step 5: Choose the skin tone that best suits yours and then tap "Next".
Step 6: Now go through each section of hairstyle, hair color, face shape, eye color and shape, makeup, eyebrow, nose shape, facial hair, body shape, outfit etc. and customize your avatar to your liking. There's even a section for facial lines and complexion if you want to get to the extreme detail.
If you need a reminder of how you really look, simply tap the mirror icon in the upper right of the screen to open the front camera on your phone.
Step 7: When you're done customizing your avatar and you're satisfied with how you look, tap the check mark in the upper-right corner of your screen.
Step 8: Once the screen finishes loading, tap "Next."
Step 9: Tap "Done".
Hurrah! Now that you've finished creating your avatar, you can tap the arrow sign in the upper right corner to share it in your Facebook feed or set it as a temporary profile image.
To see the different Avatar stickers, tap on the sticker icon (the smiling square below the arrow) or if you want to make any changes to your avatar, click on the pencil icon.
To use your avatar when commenting, just tap the happy smiley next to the gif icon and then tap the avatar icon at the bottom of the screen (fourth from the left).