Will Facebook Unveil New E-Mail Service Today?

NOV. 15, 2010— -- Are you ready for an "@facebook" e-mail address?

If the blogosphere buzz is to be believed, a Facebook e-mail service could be on its on its way soon -- like, today.

The social networking giant is hosting an event today in San Francisco, and many across the Web expect the focus to be a new e-mail program to rival the likes of Google's Gmail, Yahoo Mail and other Web-based e-mail services.

Clue No. 1? The invitation for the event includes Facebook messaging icons, as well as a blue-and-red border that mimicks an airmail envelope.

"The invitation that they sent out definitely hints at messaging," said Adam Ostrow, editor-in-chief of the social media blog (and ABCNews.com partner) Mashable. "It's been rumored for a while."

Industry watchers have been circulating stories all year about a Facebook e-mail service, called Project Titan. Pointing to MySpace Mail, which launched last summer, Ostrow said an e-mail option would bring Facebook in line with its competition.

"I think Facebook is already the No. 1 time sink on the Web, and e-mail is right beneath it," he said. "If you combine those two, you're making Facebook into this portal that is one of those websites people will keep open all day."

Ostrow said it's likely that a new Facebook mail application would provide a Web-based experience with a strong mobile component, allowing users to access e-mail wherever they are. Given the huge number of people who already use Facebook like an address book, he also expects Facebook to incorporate its groups feature and friends lists into a mail service.

Another key advantage Facebook could bring to e-mail is its ability to weed out spam-laden profiles. Presumably, each Facebook e-mail account would be tied to an actual user profile, which means it would be more difficult for junk messages to get through.

"I think there's a lot of potential to make it a spam-free experience," Ostrow said.

Facebook E-Mail Could Be Spam-Free

But a Facebook e-mail program wouldn't be without its challenges.

Ostrow said that some businesses block Facebook from employees' Internet access, which means users might not be able to check Facebook e-mail accounts from work. And given the company's continuing privacy problems, many users might be unwilling link their e-mail messages to their Facebook accounts.

But considering that Facebook has 500 million members worldwide, an e-mail program would instantaneously become a major force on the Web. Hotmail leads the Web in e-mail services with about 346 million years, Yahoo e-mail is a close second with 303 million users and Gmail has about 186 million worldwide users, according to ComScore data from July.

"Even if only a fraction of users start using the e-mail [service], they're already a huge player right off the bat," said Ostrow.

Assuming Facebook does announce an e-mail application, it means further competition in an already crowded arena. AOL launched a new Web-based e-mail service, called Project Phoenix, Sunday. The new program is available only to a limited number of users now but will open up next year to those who sign up to use a beta site.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.