Google's Web mail no joke | CNET News.com

Google's Web mail no joke CNET News.com
By Stefanie Olsen, Staff Writer, CNET News.com

News analysis Google's decision to begin testing a free, ad-supported Web-based e-mail service this week was so far out of character for the search giant that many people thought the announcement was an April Fools' Day hoax.

What's new:
Google has released a test version of a new Web-based e-mail service called Gmail that will provide up to a gigabyte of storage and serve ads based on the content of messages.

Bottom line:
Gmail could signal the beginning of a major overhaul for Web-based e-mail, challenging rival services from Yahoo, Microsoft and others with a new way of organizing messages that's based on search rather than folders. But Google's plan to scan messages raises privacy concerns.