Snowl is designed to extend the functionality of Firefox beyond the default tasks associated with the process of navigating web content. In fact, this is the premise of Snowl, that the open source browser is capable of dealing with content in addition to what it was originally designed for. Snowl, a project from Mozilla Labs, is described as nothing more than an "experiment with messaging in the browser".

"The initial prototype supports two sources of messages: RSS/Atom feeds and Twitter. And it exposes two interfaces for reading them. First, a traditional three-pane 'list' view, targeted to active reading of important messages. Second, a 'river of news' view, based on the concept popularized by Dave Winer, designed for casual browsing," revealed Mozilla's Myk Melez.

The first version of Snowl is set up to mash together feeds but not much else. However, the project does have potential. Mozilla Labs is currently considering extending support in order to accommodate various sources of messages, but especially instant messaging services such as AIM or Google Talk. On top of this, what is really lacking in Snowl as it is now is the ability for end users to interact, and this is a scenario under consideration for development.

And last, Mozilla Labs is also looking into delivering an application programming interface for the Firefox add-on in order to permit developers to built interfaces beyond what is already available. Still, for the time being, Snowl is nothing more than a simple experiment which is looking to see how the marriage of messaging with the browser will cope in the church of Firefox.

"Our next step is to gather feedback on the prototype and the ideas behind it. We want to know if the concept has promise and is worth pursuing further. We're particularly interested in feedback on how messaging might fit into the browsing experience and if there are other interfaces (or refinements to the two interfaces built into the prototype) that would make it easier for users to have online conversations," Melez added.

Snowl is available for download here.