Funny as it may seem, today there’s big news in the email industry—2 large internet bodies, 2 projects… Projects Phoenix and Titan, by AOL and Facebook respectively. What are key things to note about each project? Let’s look at each in brief detail:

AOL’s Project Phoenix:

• This will open up to a limited number of users. Probably sometime next year, peeps will be able to sign up for access via a beta test site.

• It’s a major re-design to be faster and easier to use. A catch is a “quick bar” at the top of a page - allowing you to shoot off a quick text, instant message, or email. People should also be able to send short replies from the “inbox” page without having to click on a message first. There’s also be stuff like thumbnails of recent photo attachments, and the ability to toggle between several open emails at a time.

• When you read an email with pictures attached, photos will also appear as thumbnails next to the email message.

• Physical address locations in the body of a message will automatically display a map from AOL’s Mapquest on the right-hand side, with an option to click for directions.

• And - you’ll also have a chance to sign up for a new AOL email address.

Facebook’s Project Titan:

Facebook called for a press event today - which will be a first look at Project Titan - a code name for a secret Facebook project aimed at creating a full-on web-based email client. The claim is that it will rival competitors in the industry. There are even speculations that Facebook’s Project Titan may integrate with Microsoft’s just-launched Office Web Apps, which means you’ll be able to edit online Word, Excel and PowerPoint docs, all within your Facebook account.

But there are tons of questions about the risks of the facebook email client—are you willing to trust Facebook with your email? What are the privacy implications—if any? Let’s see what happens as things unfold.

And here goes the Email Apocolypse…