Facebook is to launch its own email service, its founder said last night. In a long-awaited announcement, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his website’s new messaging system and hailed the death of email as we know it.The 26-year-old said it would go the way of the letter because it was too slow and too formal.In its place he showcased Facebook’s own version which integrates all web and text-based communications。

　　据悉，全球著名社交网站脸谱网facebook终“耐不住寂寞”要涉足电子邮件服务市场，年仅26岁的总裁马克·扎克伯格Mark Zuckerberg 在日前宣布了这一重大消息，有媒体称该举措意味着传统电子邮件时代的终结。究竟“社交结合电邮”的威力如何，答案很快就可揭晓了。

　　The service, perceived as a direct rival to Google's Gmail, marks a new front in the ongoing and increasingly bitter battle between Facebook and Google to gain the loyalty of users。

　　脸谱网的这项新服务矛头直接对准了他的竞争对手---以高储存容量为名的谷歌Gmail邮件服务，意在争夺用户数量上展开一场“血腥的战争”。

　　Mr Zuckerberg revealed that, as rumoured, the 500million people signed up to Facebook will have access to a ‘Facebook.com’ email address。

　　脸谱网的总裁马克·扎克伯格Mark Zuckerberg 对于自己坐拥5亿用户的大好局势十分乐观，以昂扬的斗志进军网址为“＠facebook.com”的Email电子邮件服务市场。

　　Hotmail and Yahoo! have 362million and 273million users respectively compared to Gmail's 193million. Facebook’s new email system is modelled on instant messaging and on-line chat and will allow people to simplify their communications regardless of how they choose to do it. Texts, email or instant messages will all come into one ‘feed’ and users can respond in any way they want。

　　据悉，在用户数量上相比，Hotmail的用户人数最多，目前约有3.6亿，Yahoo有2.7亿，Gmail 则有1.9亿。脸谱网推出的“社交结合电邮”的服务简化了网民在沟通中的选择方式，可以使得在线聊天的网民直接发送“信息邮件”。这种集合信息、电邮、即时聊天为一体的新型应件能否打破传统邮件的格局，我们拭目以待吧。

　　【相关】谷歌宣布gmail正式跟facebook决裂>>

　　Vocabulary:

　　instant message 实时讯息；即时传讯