Are you looking for a personalized email address that you can keep for life at no charge? Do you want flexibility and easy access to your email? Would you like to be able to change your ISP to take advantage of better rates without losing your email identity? Do you want to be able to check your email on company time but the company firewall is stopping you? Do you want legal anonymity while online? Would you like to have an email address that not everyone has and just for special friends? One or more of the free email sites listed below may be the answer.

The free email services by these providers allow you to retrieve your email from any computer connected to the World Wide Web via your web browser, or if forwarding is permitted, through your exisiting email application.

With a permanent email address, you have the freedom to choose the access provider that offers you the best service at the best price at any time.

While traveling or overseas email access can be costly or almost impossible since access to proprietary services is not universal and can be difficult. The rapidly increasing availability of public Internet connections in libraries, airports, cafes, and universities allows you to check your email using a Web browser.

There are 3 main types of free email service: POP mail, mail forwarding and web-based email.

Many of these services permit you to decide where your email should go at any time, as well as where you will retrieve it. That is, if you have an exisiting email account, you can have all your email forwarded to that account or you can access it from the Web. Site controls allow the flexibility of modifying your preferences based on your needs. Updating preferences, e.g. your forwarding address, can be done online anytime through your web browser.

Most services also provide other 'bells and whistles, including the ability to send attachments. Some of these additional services are not free of charge.