This sounds very interesting - I'd certainly be keen to base something on this new package (assuming it'll be released under the GPL!)
Is there any chance I could have a preview version of it quite soon (in the next week or two?) so I can see what you're doing. It doesn't have to be finished or bug free, just something to give me a good idea of what it can do.
There are quite a few features I'd like our messaging system to have (e.g., being a destination for standard notifications, and sending alerts to users via email & sms), so it may be that by working together we end up with a more feature rich package.
Thanks!
Joe