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Almost a decade after Yahoo! and Hotmail did the same, and more than a year after Google's Gmail revolutionised webmail, AOL will attempt to attract a fair proportion of the 20 million active users of its AIM instant messaging service.

AOL will closely follow the Gmail model by providing 2GB of online storage, paid for by running ads alongside messages. Where it will differ, however, is in the integration of email with instant messaging and voice messaging. Last

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month it revealed that new AIM software will include voice calls, streaming video and media file transfers. The service will include full antivirus scanning and spam blocking.

AIM users will be offered the chance to beta test the new service if they download the second beta of AIM 5.9 later this week and will automatically qualify for an account via their AIM screen name. The final version will be open to all and AOL promises support for email checking in all browsers and via the AOL.com website when it is relaunched in the summer.

AOL has been losing subscribers - who pay for a package comprising Internet access, email and other online services - at a rapid rate, 500,000 this year alone, while seeing its ad revenues soar, prompting this change in direction.

'It's a part of our broader "Audience" strategy that takes advantage of the significant increases in advertising, search and e-commerce on the Internet,' said Chamath Palihapitiya, vice president and general manager of AIM at AOL.