Facebook mail was unveiled yesterday to much media chatter, as commentators looked to stir a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of the world. 

Headlines like "'Email is dead' claims Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg" found their way into the technology columns as pundits examined the potential implications of a Facebook based email service. Briefly, for anybody who has been spending the last two days on MySpace, Facebook have announced the development of Facebook mail - predicted to take the form of "[email protected]"

Journalists who thrive on making controversial statements are gleefully predicting the end of Gmail, the toppling of AOL and the demise of Yahoo. 

The main thrust of their argument is that as Facebook users gain access to Facebook mail, they will abandon their other web mail accounts. The new Facebook service will essentially channel all of a user's messages - text, email, wall posts and direct messages - into a "social inbox". Tidying up the various inbound communications is a nice idea, and one that will help to streamline the social site. But citing Facebook mail as the death knell to other web mail accounts confuses the role the Facebook plays in people's lives. 

Gmail, and a number of other products from Google (Documents, Reader and others), area excellent tools that allow users to set up a virtual office, something that Facebook accounts will not be able to offer. Crudely, people will use Facebook for fun, and an alternative email client for work. 

Despite Zuckerberg himself stating that Facebook mail "is not an email killer", the sensationalist skills of the press have been able to turn this statement into a declaration of war against other mail providers. 

Admittedly, Facebook and Google are not in a happy place right now. The two companies recently squabbled over functionality that allowed users to migrate contact data from one platform to another. 

Initially, Facebook mail will be made available on an invitation only basis. For a look at Facebook mail in action, check out the clip below.