Microsoft Outlook Express puts the world of online communication on your desktop. Whether you want to exchange e-mail with colleagues and friends or join newsgroups to trade ideas and information, the tools you need are here.

If you`re looking for an e-mail program that is fully integrated with your OS, look no further. This free e-mail application will rival even the most powerful commercial programs.

It`s great also for people who want to check their Hotmail accounts with a mail client.

Here are some key features of "Outlook Express":

· Manage multiple e-mail and newsgroup accounts
If you have several e-mail or newsgroup accounts, you can work with all of them within one window. You can also create multiple users, or identities, for the same computer. Each identity has unique e-mail folders and an individual Address Book. Multiple identities make it easy for you to keep work e-mail separate from personal e-mail, and also to keep individual users' e-mail separated.

· Browse through messages quickly and easily
Using the message list and preview pane, you can view a list of messages and read individual messages at the same time. The Folders list contains e-mail folders, news servers, and newsgroups, and you can easily switch among them. You can also create new folders to organize and sort messages, and then set up message rules so that incoming e-mail that meets your criteria automatically goes to a specific folder. You can also create your own views to customize the way you look at your e-mail.

· Keep your e-mail on a server so you can view it from more than one computer
If your Internet service provider (ISP) uses an Internet message access protocol (IMAP) e-mail server for incoming e-mail, you can read, store, and organize your messages in folders on the server without downloading the messages to your computer. That way, you can view messages from any computer that can connect to that server.

· Use the Address Book to store and retrieve e-mail addresses
You can save names and addresses in the Address Book automatically by simply replying to a message. You can also import names and addresses from other programs, type them into the Address Book, add them from e-mail messages you receive, or add them from a search of popular Internet directory services (white pages). The Address Book supports Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for viewing Internet directory services.

· Add a personal signature or stationery to your messages
You can insert essential information into outgoing messages as part of your personal signature, and you can create multiple signatures to use for different purposes. You can also include a business card with more detailed information. To make your messages look more attractive, you can add stationery patterns and backgrounds, and you can change the color and style of the text.

· Send and receive secure messages
You can digitally sign and encrypt messages by using digital IDs. Digitally signing your message assures recipients that the message is really from you. Encryption ensures that only intended recipients can read the message.

· Find newsgroups that interest you
Looking for a newsgroup that matches your interests? You can search for newsgroups that contain keywords or browse through all of the newsgroups available from your Usenet provider. When you find a newsgroup you want to view regularly, add it to your Subscribed list so you can find it again easily.

· View newsgroup conversations efficiently
You can view a newsgroup message and all of the responses without reading an entire message list. When you view the list of messages, you can expand and collapse conversations to make it easier to find what interests you. You can also use views to display only the messages you want to read.

· Download newsgroup messages for offline reading
To use your online time efficiently, you can download messages or entire newsgroups, so you don't have to be connected to your ISP to read messages. You can also download message headers only for offline viewing and then mark the headers of the messages you want to read; then the next time you are connected, Outlook Express downloads the message text. You can also compose messages offline and send them the next time you reconnect.


Note: The installation for Outlook Express is a hand-in-hand installer for both Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.