NEW YORK—As Facebook has blossomed into a hot Internet hangout, its users have passed countless hours playing Scrabble with friends — or at least, an unauthorized version of the word game that Scrabble’s owners have tried to shut down.

Now a video game maker will try to legitimize the activity.

Electronic Arts Inc. said Monday that this month it will release a Scrabble application, a Web program that Facebook members can plug into their profile pages.

EA hopes to capitalize on the success of an unauthorized version called Scrabulous, which was created by two brothers in India and has nearly a half-million daily users, despite efforts by Scrabble’s owners to squish it.

EA spokesman Trudy Muller said the video game maker’s offering would be “an authorized, licensed Scrabble game experience that people familiar with Scrabble can instantly recognize as Scrabble.”

It’s unclear whether legality will be enough to lure Facebook members — and their friends — already familiar with the unauthorized version. Muller said she could not comment on any differences in features.

One key limitation is that EA’s Facebook game will be available only to U.S. and Canadian users.