There are more than 2.5 billion email users worldwide and that number will grow to more than 2.8 billion by the end of 2018, according to a new report from The Radicati Group. The Email Market, 2014-2018 report revealed that worldwide revenues for the email market will hit $12 billion in 2014 and will reach $23.5 billion by the end of 2018.

ActiveInbox, a new tool that helps Gmail users organize their overflowing inboxes, is offering a sale on its service. Customers that order the Lifetime Plan for ActiveInbox at TNW Deals can get the entire service for two Gmail accounts for $99, a nice discount from the regularly priced $239 service. The app is designed to help users organize their inboxes based on priority emails and build task lists and schedules from the list.

Email and text messages are popping up in movies these days, but can be a bit boring to look at on screen. Filmmaker Tony Zhou has created a video which explains some creative ways that email and text messages are being illustrated in movies. Tricks include messages that float over the screen, as well as actions taking place right on the desktop.

Facebook and Yahoo have revealed a new email standard called RRVS (Require-Recipient-Valid-Since) to help protect users against potential fraud. Since Yahoo began its email address recycling program, Facebook users that created their accounts with their now dormant Yahoo account, the social networking account could be taken over by the new user of the Yahoo account. The new standard is designed to prevent this kind of hijacking.

While collaboration tools like Yammer and Chatter are hot communications tools at startups, the reality is that email is unlikely to be replaced in most businesses. The Wall Street Journal interviewed a handful of CIOs at large companies including: Covanta Energy Corp., NuStar Energy and Dominion Enterprises and all agreed that email works well in the workplace.

New York City police officers are getting email addresses and smartphones that can scan fingerprints. The city will soon hand out 35,000 handheld devices and 6,000 "ruggedized tablet computers" to NYPD. Officers will be given department-issued email addresses, which will be used as a communications tool for police information and records which were previously only available at the precinct.

Ever since Google revealed its new email platform "Inbox" this week, email marketers have been speculating on what it will mean for them. In a discussion on the Q&A social network Quora, Noya Lizor, Head Honcho at The Best of Email, pointed out that Inbox is mobile based giving marketers yet another reason to optimize for mobile.

The New York Times is opening up access to its premium email newsletter, "What We're Reading." The semi-weekly email product, in which editors share their recommendations for stories across the web, will no longer be behind a paywall. Prior to this move, the email was only accessible to Times Premier and core subscribers.

Email security services firm Agari has debuted a new partner program called the Agari Trust Network. The network is designed to help marketers protect themselves from data breaches and cyber attacks. Charter members of the network include: Epsilon, Inbox Marketer, Sailthru, Silverpop (an IBM company) and Yesmail. These companies will be able use Agari Pro, a tool for enabling email authentication in real time.

Cloud-based automation company eTrigue has expanded its partnerships with email marketing companies. The company's VisitIQ ecosystem now features built-in support for Bronto, dotmailer, Emma, Mad Mimi, VerticalResponse, Mailchimp and Constant Contact, among others. VisitIQ allows marketers to seek out new customers by creating digital profiles of potential clients. With the new partnerships, marketers can send email marketing messages to prospects through the eTrigue dashboard.