Labs

Google Mail looks the least sophisticated email service here. This makes it faster than the other services on test, though, so it's better-suited for those with older PCs and slow connections.

The main screen is uncluttered. It has only a handful of buttons and most links are simple text labels. This makes it incredibly easy to navigate. Adverts are displayed only when you view individual messages and are based

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on the content of that mail. This gives rise to some serious privacy concerns.

When you receive a reply to an email, the original sits just below for reference, helping you to keep track of email exchanges. Unlike most email services, Google mail doesn't allow for user-defined folders. Instead, you use a labelling system to categorise your email. An archive process helps you keep your inbox tidy, and you can find archived messages by browsing the archive folder, clicking through your labels or running an email search. The latter is a powerful tool that lets you define precise search terms so you can confidently uncover the relevant email.

Google Mail is the only service on test to support both POP and IMAP. A Google Mail account also provides access to a range of other services, including Google Calendar, Google Documents and the Picassa photo-management tool. There's no dedicated file storage utility, but you can pay for extra space should you need more than the generous 5GB provided.