Augmented reality startup Layar has launched version 5.0 of its Reality Browser app, as an Android beta.

"Layar 5.0 allows for sharing, more interactivity, and more attractive layers," explains the company in a blog post. The sharing element includes integrating Facebook and Twitter, so users can share their favourite layers with friends and followers.

There is also a new animation API, which lets developers get their 3D virtual objects to move within layers. However, the biggest change in Layar 5.0 is its revamped design, which the company says aims to make the app "more user-friendly and intuitive".

Users can download the new beta from Layar's website now, and are being invited to give the company feedback. "New features will become available for iPhone soon," says the company, so for now iPhone users will have to make do with version 4.0.1 of the app.

Last month, Layar announced that its Layar Player had come out of beta, allowing developers to include Layar's technology in their own apps, rather than just launching layers within the company's Reality Browser.