Yesterday, we reported that Facebook was planning to develop a full-featured email system - and had even gone so far as to dub it a "Gmail killer".
Today, it's almost impossible to tell which company has which tanks parked on which competitors' lawns, but it has been revealed that Gmail plans to incorporate the pulse of social networks into its interface - real-time status updates.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Gmail users will not only see a timeline of status updates from others using the same service, but those of contacts on other Google sites such as the photo network Picasa and the much more popular YouTube.
Analysts have expressed scepticism that the change will make Google better able to compete with Facebook and Twitter, but it does highlight that the boundaries between online activities have never been more indistinct. The move may also fuel speculation about Google's future intentions towards the popular social media sites.
Email and social media are essential parts of any online marketing strategy. Talk to us if you'd like to pick our brains about yours.
