NBC and Facebook are teaming up to co-host a Republican debate Sunday night with a unique social media component.

The debate, moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory, will air on NBC Sunday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. ET, two days before the New Hampshire primary. The debate will also be streaming live on MSNBC.com and on Facebook, allowing political junkies to tune-in online.

Users who watch online (or on T.V. while online) will be able to submit questions directly to candidates via a Facebook widget. They will also be able to interact with one another in real-time as part of a comprehensive "second screen" experience, a setup familiar to many television fans.

"By allowing people to connect in an authentic and meaningful way with presidential candidates, we hope more voters than ever will get involved with issues that matter most to them." said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications, Marketing and Public Policy at Facebook, in a statement.

We originally reported on the NBC/Facebook debate in July of last year. Since then, NBC and Facebook have been asking users to share issues they would like to be addressed during the debate. And, as former President Bill Clinton famously said, "it's the economy, stupid."

The Facebook portal isn't constrained to a simple poll. It features a widget for more complex debate where 2,000 comments have been left over the past few months. Users aren't just dropping comments and leaving, either. They're replying and coming back to answer other users, showing real interaction on the site.

This isn't the first time Facebook has been heavily involved with a political debate, but the built-in stream and widgets are a significant evolution in Facebook's involvement with politics.

In 2008, Facebook partnered with ABC News and featured "Debate Groups," simple spaces where users could discuss the night's events. When President Obama was sworn in to office in 2009, Facebook brought users streaming video via CNN alongside "Livestream," an instant chat tool. And during the 2010 midterm elections, Facebook and ABC again teamed up to livestream a town hall broadcast from Arizona State University.

Other social media networks are in on the politics game, too. In July of last year, Twitter joined up with the White House for President Obama's first "Twitter Town Hall." The president took questions live from Twitter users and answered them via an online stream hosted on the White House's website.

To follow the debate Sunday, tune your TV to NBC or point your browser at MSNBC or Facebook. Then, check out Facebook's politics portal to get involved with the social debate by asking questions for the candidates or by having a conversation with other online users.

Are you excited about taking part in the NBC/Facebook debate? Let us know in the comments below.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, carterdayne