Facebook not going after Gmail, Zuckerberg says

Even though it lured Gmail’s creator to its team, Facebook is not creating a web-based e-mail client, according to chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. He told AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher that the company is more focused on short-form communications in an on-stage interview at the D Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes today.

“We’re not building a Web-mail competitor. People already use Facebook for messaging,” he said. “There are definitely these great services that people use that are full Web mail clients, but I think the opportunity is more around short form communications.”

That goes against previous reports from TechCrunch that the company was working on something dubbed “Project Titan,” a full-featured webmail product. Gmail creator Paul Buchheit joined the company last August through the acquisition of his social-sharing startup FriendFeed.

Zuckerberg’s full interview is here.