I can't wait. What's all the malarky about invasion of privacy? If you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be concerned. After all, let's face it...Google doesn't know you from Adam down the street. Further, if that's a problem for you, don't sign up... Is that so complicated?

How is what Gmail does different from what any webmail provider and many ISPs do with spam filtering? They've got a computer looking through your e-mail for certain patterns and keywords, and taking actions on your mail based on the results.

Everything has a price. Such a mild invasion of privacy is the price you pay for free email with massive storage. To those who balk at the terms: how much would you shell out for a "secure" GMail?

Call me old fashioned but I don't like the idea of any company having gigabytes of my email, which it has conveniently filled with advertising

A person's email archive belongs on their own hard disk. I wouldn't trust all my personal mail to a 3rd party (even if it was a highly accessibly safe box).

That London Times has the key aspect to discuss:

The California-based company has threatened to handle the launch online to avoid Wall Street fees, which can amount to more than 10 per cent of cash raised.

Good for google. Bet they don;t do it though!!

If Gmail is launched, people will flock to it in droves. Not just geeks, but ordinary people who have no idea how much of their private lives are lived "in plaintext." The privacy of many, many people, even those who do not use Gmail, is at stake

From the Gmail FAQ

Does Gmail intend to keep copies of my email even after I've deleted it, or closed my account?

No. Google keeps multiple backup copies of messages so that we can recover them in case of errors or system failure. Even if a message has been deleted or an account is no longer active, messages may remain on our backup systems for some period of time. This is standard practice in the email industry, which Gmail and other major webmail services follow in order to provide a reliable service for users. However, Google will make reasonable efforts to remove deleted information from our systems as quickly as is practical.

I've been using Google's Gmail and I find it incredibly useful. My favs:

1. The keyboard shortcuts: allows me to use web based email the way I use Pine.. do everything without touching the mouse even once.

2. The tracking of emails to display them as "conversations".. so neat, it looks almost obvious.

3. The much griped about text ads are totally unobtrusive, and (faint, faint) they do not even appear on all email pages. Google probably has some algorithm to decide which conversations can get targeted ads.

4. The address autocomplete - no more clicking on email addresses in a popup window to insert them. It works exactly like a proper client application (as different from a browser app)

5. To reply to an email, all I have to do is click in a textbox below the email and presto! the compose widgets are there.. great time saver.. and you can see the conversation on top.

and the best part..

6. The interface is so clean and clutter free - it has google written all over it!

The California-based company has threatened to handle the launch online to avoid Wall Street fees, which can amount to more than 10 per cent of cash raised.

"When dealing with a company with the profile of Google, which processes more than 200 million searches a day and attracts more than 80 million internet surfers a month, such a proposal must be taken seriously.

"Crucially, it has yet to become clear why Google is considering flotation. The company certainly has expansion plans, as the proposed launch of its e-mail service, Gmail, illustrates.

"It is also launching a local promotions service to attract advertisers who cannot afford the current fees and have no need for a national profile, while refining its software to ensure services are better attuned to cultural differences.

"These are hardly the programmes, however, that require the raising of many billions of dollars to fund. Nor is flotation likely to have been suggested merely to allow Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the company's co-founders, to cash in their riches. The duo are famously frugal, with Mr Page driving a Volkswagen Beetle.

"The company's venture capital backers may wish to cash in at least part of their stakes. But a flotation which would apply the strictures of Wall Street on a company noted for its whacky culture, with the company offering staff free massages, ice cream and access to scooters, is hardly likely to have been agreed unless part of a broader strategy.

"This could see Google, after six years of scooping up customers and awards, begin to acquire companies too.

" Major elements of Google's expected offering remain unknown, including its size, which banks have been tapped to lead it, and the extent to which individual investors will be able to participate. A Google spokeswoman declined to comment. " (CNN.com)