Andre Yoskowitz
13 Nov 2010 0:18
Multiple sources are reporting today that Facebook is set to unveil an e-mail service, one that will be instantly available to all 500 million members of the social networking giant.
If every current member signs up for an account, Facebook would leap into the top spot for email providers, surpassing Microsoft, who has 361 million users of Hotmail and Live. Yahoo is in second with 273 million, followed by Google's Gmail at 193 million.
The company has invited the press to a "significant" announcement on Monday, where it will unveil an alelged "Gmail killer."
An analyst with Gartner said this: "There is a huge opportunity for these guys to fundamentally change the nature of e-mail."
The analyst says the Facebook system could likely prioritize emails based on closeness to the sender, or make email exchanges into a conversation between a number of users, turning the "dinosaur" that is email into a social service.
We will be reporting on the situation on Monday.