Facebook Messages takes on email rivals
Facebook has set its sights on email providers such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo after unveiling its new messaging service.
In a company blog post the social networking giant said Messages would make keeping in touch with friends "more like a human conversation" by allowing users to access chat, email and mobile texts all in one place.
Facebook engineer Joel Seligstein explained: "You decide how you want to talk to your friends: via SMS, chat, email or Messages. They will receive your message through whatever medium or device is convenient for them, and you can both have a conversation in real time. You shouldn't have to remember who prefers IM over email or worry about which technology to use. Simply choose their name and type a message.
"Relatively soon, we'll probably all stop using arbitrary ten digit numbers and bizarre sequences of characters to contact each other. We will just select friends by name and be able to share with them instantly. We aren't there yet, but the changes today are a small first step."
Although Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg told reporters in San Francisco "this is not an email killer", Messages will be viewed by many as an attempt to compete with Google's Gmail.
While Facebook is now integrating email, Google has previously attempted the reverse, bringing social media features into its email client with limited success.
Facebook will be launching Messages and introducing email addresses "over the next few months".