Yahoo overhaul mail service – social networking integration

Yahoo are updating their email service to try and counteract a drop in user count and to help counter alternatives from Microsoft and Google.

Yahoo are planning to change their email as part of a project called “Minty” which is aimed at increasing the speed of the service outside the USA. They are also looking at overhauling the appearance to mirror a simpler appearance, such as the one seen on the iPad. This update is set to hit public during the Autumn.

“We continue to innovate our product experiences, and specific to Yahoo Mail, we have been previewing our next version of email that provides higher performance, sleeker design and great integration with social-networking services such as Facebook”, a Yahoo spokesman said.

Microsoft are still leading the way worldwide with 355 million visitors in July, up 3% on the same period the year before, according to ComScore Data. Gmail is growing quick, up 22% to 185 million visitors during the same time peroid. Yahoo on the other hand were down 7% with 281 million visitors.

ComScore reports also show that Yahoo are having a hard time in India as Gmail took the top spot several months ago and in July had 24 million visitors compared to Yahoo's 21 million.

KitGuru says: Yahoo mail is also under threat with the rise of mobile devices powered by the excellent Google Android operating system – this often comes preinstalled with Gmail.

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