• by Shankar Gupta , May 12, 2005

One week after releasing a beta upgrade to its free Instant Messenger service, America Online Wednesday launched yet another beta version of the service, this time adding free, ad-supported e-mail.

The new beta version, which replaces the May 2 beta edition, allows AIM users to sign up for an e-mail address--their screen name at AIM.com--during the installation process. After doing so, users will be able to access their e-mail through the AOL browser window, which appears when an AIM user signs on.

The feature will be offered to every AIM member. Ads on the service will be from members of the AOL advertising network, such as the Sylvan Learning Center, 1800flowers.com, and ShareBuilder.com. Similar ads also appear on the AOL Webmail service used by paying AOL subscribers, but are placed at the bottom of the screen, whereas ads served into the free e-mail service are placed more prominently at the top.

Other major Internet companies, including MSN, Yahoo!, and Google, have long offered users free, ad-supported e-mail accounts.

Last week, AOL began to offer AIM users free AOL Journals--previously only available to paying members. Krista Thomas, a spokeswoman for AOL, said the company hopes to expand its audience by offering previously pay-only services to the general public. "What we've been doing to a large extent comes under the umbrella of an audience strategy to reach new audiences on the Internet," she said. "E-mail being the most popular activity online, this is certainly an important piece of that strategy."

During the beta test period, the mail service will only be available through the AOL Browser that is included with the AIM upgrade, Thomas said. However, by the time the product's official launch rolls around--AOL hopes to release the feature next month--users will be able to access the AIM mail service through any Web-enabled computer.

AOL also made a few other changes to the AIM program, such as removing third-party programs like Weatherbug and WildTangent, which allows users to play the AIM games, and increasing the maximum number of buddies allowed on a user's buddy list to 250, from 200. By the launch in June, Thomas said, AOL hopes to allow users to add up to 400 buddies to their contact list.