Twitter owner Elon Musk faces his biggest challenge since buying the social network site, with the imminent release by Facebook owner Meta of its new Threads app.

Designed as a direct competitor to Twitter's network of more than 350 million users, Threads has been made available for pre-order on mobile app stores on iPhone and Android operating systems.

Listed as 'Threads, an Instagram app,' the new program should be available on Thursday.

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Described on Apple's app store as "Instagram's text-based conversation app," it will reportedly allow users to retain followers from photo-sharing platform Instagram and keep the same username.

Instagram already has hundreds of millions of registered users and a history of introducing new features based on the success of other social media firms. Screengrabs show Threads' dashboard looking similar to that of Twitter.

"Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow," says the app's description on the store.

It promises to enable users to "connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things -- or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world."

Twitter has faced numerous controversies since Tesla owner Musk bought the company for $44 billion last year.

He has laid off around 80 percent of staff and placed many features behind a subscription paywall. Musk also reinstated a number of banned accounts, such as those of former U.S. President Donald Trump and conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee.

Hundreds of advertisers, concerned by a perceived rise in harmful content on the platform, paused spending with Twitter.

Last week Twitter provoked ire when Musk announced that the platform would limit the number of tweets that could be read per day, with people not paying for subscriptions - by far the majority of users - limited to 1,000 tweets a day.

While alternative microblogging sites - such as Mastodon and Blue Sky - have seen an uptick in user numbers since Musk's acquisition, neither has been able to challenge Twitter.

Meta's move highlights the increasing personal rivalry between its boss Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Last month, the pair agreed to a physical fight, although details of the bout have not been forthcoming, with accusations that it amounts to little more than a publicity stunt.

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