The Facebook Developer Garage program has been growing fast and furiously through the first three months of 2009. We’ve reached developers across the world, in communities ranging from the established to the emerging, and experienced many firsts.

We're celebrating March as a milestone, as we hosted nine developer Garages worldwide --- more than ever before in a single month. Facebook Developer Garages serve as a forum for developers to learn about the latest updates on Facebook Platform, share ideas and connect.

Over 150 people attended the first Facebook Developer Garage Ireland, which focused on Facebook Connect, Mobile, and building Silverlight applications for Facebook. The Garage made national news with Colm Long from Facebook’s Ireland office closing the event with a few remarks about the importance developer communities have on the Facebook Platform ecosystem.

The Facebook Developer Garage Bulgaria was also the first of its kind in its nation. The Developer Garage boasted over 70 developers who learned more about Facebook Platform, the basics of Facebook Connect, and the advantages Facebook can provide for developers, marketing specialists, and business owners.

In Philadelphia, heavy hitters in the industry were in attendance at the Facebook Garage Philadelphia, which drew over 150 developers, brands, and ad agencies. Attendees learned about application development, engagement for brand pages, and monetization concepts. Sasha Rush from the Platform team also gave a technical overview of Facebook Connect.

Facebook Developer Garage Pensacola, Florida, explored developer basics and the new design changes. Attendees learned about the FBML Basics and Page creation with Facebook's Jon Fougner video conferencing into the event.

Over 50 developers gathered together in Chennai, India, for the first Developer Garage in their locale. Topics focused on Facebook Connect, Facebook Connect for the iPhone, and how United Nations used Facebook in their Nuclear Disarmament campaign.

On March 15, the Facebook team trekked down south to Texas to rally developers at the Facebook Developer Garage Austin – SXSW Edition. Over 300 developers discussed Facebook Connect and had the first peek at newly launched Facebook Connect for the iPhone implementations. Facebook's Josh Elman gave an overview of Facebook Connect followed by presentations from Alamofire, Drop.io, Causes, Citizen Sports, and Flixster.

Later, one of our fbFund recipients, Kontagent, hosted a Facebook Developer Garage San Francisco. The event drew one of the largest crowds of the month with over 500 developers gathering to discuss Facebook Connect, Metrics, and Social Gaming, and Josh Elman emphasized the new abilities of the Facebook stream and feed forms.

Traveling over to Southeast Asia, Facebook Developer Garage Indonesia sparked interest among Indonesian Facebook enthusiasts. With over 300 developers, Indonesian developers shared insights from a user perspective and discussed the benefits of building on Facebook Platform and Facebook Connect. Facebook's Dave Morin and the Platform team helped kick off the event with a video sent from Facebook HQ.

The Facebook Developer Garage Paris closed the month with a small Garage connecting Parisian developers with marketers in the area. They shared their latest apps and mingled over tasty treats.

To learn more about the Garage program, please see our Developer Wiki or find Garages near you on our Calendar. We hope to see a Garage near you soon!

*Special thanks to our Garage hosts: Kontagent, Facebook Developers Indonesia, FreSh!, Think.Web, Brand Science Institute, Alamofire, Stormy Shippy, The Knowledge Foundation, Social Media Group, Business Blogging, Facebook Developers Garage – Florida, Stuzo Group, Facebook Developers Bulgaria, and web2ireland

*Thanks also to Intel who sponsored our Developer Garage Ireland, Austin and San Francisco.