Mozilla is playing with the idea of a Firefox extension that would allow users to do things like insert links in e-mail messages with "a simple text command" rather than the series of mouse clicks or keyboard combinations that is normally required, according to LinuxWorld.com.

Mozilla Labs released the first version of Ubiquity earlier this week. Designed to enable users to create their own "mashups" for e-mail, Ubiquity grew out of software created at Chicago-based Humanized. The technology found its way to Mozilla when Humanized's CEO, Asa Raskin, became the user experience chief at Mozilla Labs. (Mozilla hired other Humanized executives as well, the story says.)

LinuxWorld.com describes example use cases as follows:

Someone inviting a friend to dinner could highlight the name of the restaurant, type "map," and instantly call up a Google Map showing the location of the restaurant. The user could then edit that map and place it in the body of the e-mail message. Similarly, typing "yelp" and the name of the restaurant would bring the text of reviews from Yelp.com right into the message.

Like all ideas that are born at Mozilla Labs, the extension may or may not be included in a future Firefox release.