Google gMail provides members with a massive amount of free storage space (currently 2GB), along with tools that help users to efficiently search, sort and store their emails online. While the service is free, new members are still only allowed into the system after receiving an invitation from Google or from an existing gMail member.

HoTMaiL is hands-down the most popular provider of free email on the Web. Their system allows you to have a Web-based email account that has a number of benefits associated with it. You don't even need to own your own computer or Internet connection - because you can access it from school/uni/business...in fact, anywhere! Once you have signed up, you are given a special password and username that enables you to send and read your email from any computer with internet access. Hotmail currently offers its free members 250MB of storage space, along with the capacity to send attachments of up to 10MB in size.

Lycos Email is yet another free email program provided by a search engine in order to attract regular users of the engine. They provide a reliable web-based system that comes complete with 5MB storage space and in-build anti-spam tools.

My Own Email offers users the choice of either a web-based hosted account or an email forwarding account that effectively allows you to improve your current email address, while receiving your mail in your usual account. For either type, users have the choice of more than 200 domain names to end their customized address.

Net@ddress has a system very similar in style, features and quality to Hotmail's service, though with literally hundreds of domain names from which to choose. This might be a welcome respite for the many John Smith's of the world, who will be hard pressed to find a memorable username available at Hotmail, gMail or Yahoo! Mail. :)

Yahoo! Mail has, for obvious reasons, quickly become one of the Web's moat popular web-based free email systems. Their service is remarkably reliable and user-friendly. Yahoo! Mail now offers a range of rugged anti-spam features, along with a massive 1GB of storage space.