Free email could be over

The era of free email could soon be over, experts warned today.

Microsoft and Yahoo!, who between them control the accounts of around 300million people, dominating the email market, are considering charging for every one sent.

They believe the "estamp" charge will stop spammers who send out more than four billion unsolicited junk emails a day.

The companies claim ordinary consumers would barely be affected by a charge of less than 1p per email, but those sending out millions at a time would incur heavy fees. However, experts say charges could lead to a massive consumer backlash.

Julian Smith, a technology analyst with Jupiter Research, said: "People are so used to the idea of free email they won't give it up easily. I think these firms will have a fight on their hands." Stuart Okin, Microsoft UK's chief security adviser, said the system is already being tested.

"We're looking at a number of anti-spam technologies, some of which involve charging. But we haven't yet made any final decisions on what systems, or combination of systems, we will use."

He said hotmail, Microsoft's

free email service, filters out 4.2 billion spam emails a day from its users' accounts.

Greg Olson of Sendmail, an email firm working with both Microsoft and Yahoo! on their anti-spam plans, said: "To stop spam we need to set up a directory of email addresses which are 'legitimate'.

"Once this is in place, we will see Yahoo! and Microsoft effectively switch off their users' ability to send and receive email from people not on the list.

"The key is that everyone has to sign up to this, otherwise spammers will simply use the companies not taking part." Once the approved list has been drawn up, the firms will be able to tell clients to pay for emails - probably via their credit cards - or risk being cut off.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told the World Economic Forum earlier this year: "Two years from now, spam will be solved. In the long run, the monetary-method of stopping it will be dominant."

Advice on stopping spammers includes not divulging your email address unless absolutely necessary, never replying to junk emails, and turning off the preview window in your email software as it can inform spammers your address is active.