Effective June 15 2004, Yahoo! Inc. has raised the storage limits for its free e-mail users from the earlier 4MB to 100MB and is offering virtually "unlimited storage" for its paid e-mail customers. Besides additional storage, the service will get a face-lift and tie in more Yahoo-branded services, such as Photos and Messenger. Some of the highlights of the improved mail service as per Yahoo! are:

* Increased storage capacity – from your current level to 100MB
* Increase in total message size to 10MB
* A streamlined interface that's even easier to use

Earlier, another Internet giant, Google also came out with Gmail, a free Web based email service with 1GB (1000MB) of storage. But Gmail sparked considerable controversy, because Google planned to scan people's e-mails to serve ads based on message text. The plans have drawn fire from privacy advocates and other industry leaders alike. Gmail is still in beta but Google has already expressed its intention to address the issue.

The main factors distinguishing different e-mail services are storage, antispam features and other personalized services. What may now stop users from switching to Yahoo! mail or Gmail is simply the hassle of changing e-mail addresses!

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