Amazon.com has been showing greater interest lately in so-called social commerce, the concept of tapping online social networks to drive sales. The online retailer in July started letting people connect their Amazon and Facebook accounts to generate gift recommendations for themselves and their friends.

Now Amazon has begun selling stuff directly through Facebook, though it's starting with an unglamorous product: diapers.

Amazon today started powering its first e-commerce storefront on Facebook, for Pampers. Under a "Shop Now" tab on Pampers' Facebook page, people can buy diapers as well as other products made by Pampers parent Procter & Gamble (including Tide, Olay and Pantene products) from Amazon.

People who want to buy from the Pampers Facebook page have to sign in with an Amazon account, and they get Amazon's standard free shipping on orders over $25 and free, two-day shipping for Amazon Prime members. Asked if Amazon will be powering more such Facebook stores, Amazon spokeswoman Tracy Ogden said the company doesn't discuss future plans.

Brian Walker, an e-commerce analyst for Forrester Research, said there's a "relatively small volume" of sales coming through social networks, and said it's not clear yet if consumers are going to do much shopping there. But, Walker added, "It's not expensive to experiment with this so a lot of brands are going to be trying it."

Pampers' Facebook page lists 359,000 friends. Diapers must be a growth area for Amazon. The company recently started offering a free membership program called Amazon Mom with discounts on diapers.

Follow my updates on Twitter.