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The new mail client will incorporate much of the new functionality that has emerged since Outlook Express was released in 2001, principally areas such as RSS feeds and blogs.

The client will double as an RSS reader with the ability to read and forward RSS feeds within the standard client window. All the usual features expected in an RSS reader will be present such as drag and drop to folders, read and unread posts, and folders to manage subscriptions with the option to map several feeds to a single folder. Windows Live Mail Desktop (WLMD) will also contain features like a 'Quick Search Box' so that as you type, the messages are filtered so only those that include the search text are shown. For RSS this will include searching the title and blog description.

WLMD will now also include a Blog It feature to allow one click posting to your blog which can be published with just another click. It will also be possible

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to forward and reply to blogs from within Windows Live Mail Desktop.

The software will also include 'Photo Mail' a feature already available to premium MSN mail subscribers. It enables users to send thumbnails of pictures through email with a link to a much higher quality picture hosted in MSN.

There have been other developments since the launch of Outlook Express. One of the most pernicious has been the rise of phishing. Microsoft says it will be adding security measures to Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta to detect phishing threats as they arise.

Among other features to be included is the ability to manage multiple accounts which can handle any POP or IMAP e-mails in one place. Microsoft is also promising an improved search which can sift through thousands of emails in multiple folders 'in a split second'.

The timing may be interesting. Although there will be a mail client (Windows Vista Mail) included with the upcoming Vista operating system, it seems that Windows Mail Live Desktop will be released first. It may be that having had to release a 'pre-beta' of Internet Explorer 7 to counter the rise and rise of Firefox, Microsoft does not want find itself in the same position against Mozilla's other flagship project, the email client Thunderbird, and has decided to nip any switching in the bud.

The beta of Windows Mail Live Desktop will be available in the next few weeks at the Windows Live Ideas page.