Facebook reportedly unveiling e-mail service
By Mark Milian, CNN
Credit: CNN (http://edition.cnn.com)
Facebook is reportedly launching a Web-based email service on Monday.
(CNN) -- Would you like an e-mail address ending in "@facebook.com?"
You may soon have that chance. Facebook is expected to announce a Web-based e-mail service at an event Monday in San Francisco, California, according to multiple reports.
The service would reportedly resemble Yahoo Mail, Hotmail or Gmail -- three of the most popular free e-mail websites.
Facebook already offers a messaging feature to facilitate private discussions between its 500 million users, but the new service is believed to let users talk to non-Facebook addresses.
Facebook has quarreled with Google, which runs Gmail, when the search giant protested the social networking company's stringent policies on exporting users' data. Paul Buchheit, the former Google employee who created Gmail, is leaving his job at Facebook on Friday to join an incubator for technology startups.
Blogs from the Los Angeles Times, TechCrunch and Inside Facebook cite anonymous sources who say a Facebook e-mail client is coming.
Mashable founder Pete Cashmore, in his weekly column for CNN.com, says a Facebook e-mail service would help Facebook combine social networking, chat and e-mail to become arguably, the leading hub of online communication.
ZDNet adds a rumor that the service will tie in with Microsoft's Office Web Apps. Microsoft is a Facebook investor and partner.
CNN will report from Facebook's event on Monday, which starts at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. Pacific). Look for Twitter updates during the event @cnntech.
Credit: CNN (http://edition.cnn.com)
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