Messaging, the new mail focused subsidiary of the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, announced that it has begun operations. The initial focus for Mozilla Messaging is the development of Thunderbird 3, which will deliver significant improvements, notably integrated calendaring, better search and enhancements to the overall user experience. Mozilla Messaging has staffed a small product development team who will work as part of a community of contributors from around the world.

"We're excited to renew the focus of our open source community on the future of Thunderbird," said David Ascher, CEO, Mozilla Messaging. "Everyone of us is committed to building a great email product that people will love to use and that serves as the foundation for choice in a critical area of Internet software."
Mozilla Messaging is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation. The board of directors consists of David Ascher, CEO, Mozilla Messaging; Christopher Beard, VP and General Manager, Mozilla Labs; and Marten Mickos, CEO of open source database vendor MySQL AB.

"Thunderbird email is a vital part of the Mozilla project which brings freedom to hundreds of millions of internet users worldwide," said Marten Mickos,
CEO of MySQL AB. "By joining the board of Mozilla Messaging, I hope to help the world communicate better."

It's a noble cause that starts with a solid email product that has struggled for attention next to the shining beacon of Firefox. We'll certainly be watching to see what they come up with.