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SAN FRANCISCO : In a Valentine's Day gift to the world, Google has dropped the invitation-only policy for Gmail and made the free e-mail service available to anyone.
"Gmail sign-ups are now open worldwide," Google associate product manager David Murray said in a posting on the California Internet search engine's website on Thursday. "No more waiting for someone to invite you."
People could create Gmail accounts at the website www.gmail.com.
Murray's posting was accompanied by a link to a set of YouTube videos that used marionettes made of office supplies to playfully extol the benefits of using Gmail. Google bought YouTube in November in a 1.65-billion-dollar stock deal.
"But seriously folks, good relationships are built on good communication," Murray wrote. "There's no reason you should struggle to reach the ones you love, and Gmail helps you communicate fast and easily."
Gmail has a built-in chat function letting people switch to instant messaging that is offered in more than 40 languages.
Gmail was invitation-only when it launched on April Fool's Day in 2004. It opened to the public on Wednesday, Valentine's Day.
Gmail competes with free e-mail services offered by rivals Yahoo and Microsoft. - AFP /dt
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