AOL Mail, also called AIM Mail, is a recent development in America Online's long (by Internet standards) history. AOL has always offered e-mail service, but only to its paying customers and only through its proprietary, all-in-one software package. However, in the spring of 2005, AOL launched its first free Webmail service, known as AOL Mail.

aol mail
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AOL Mail provides free e-mail services to nonsubscribers.

AOL Mail differs from AOL's traditional e-mail program because it doesn't require special software, and it's available for free to anyone, not just AOL subscribers. AOL Mail, like other Web mail programs, runs over the Internet using standard Web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, et cetera. AOL Mail users simply go to mail.aol.com, enter their login information and start sending e-mails.

AOL Mail or AIM Mail?
The original name for AOL's free Webmail program was AIM Mail because it started as an added feature for AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) users. Now, if you log into AOL Mail with your AIM screen name, you're taken to a Web site called AIM Mail. But if you sign up for an AOL Mail account without already having an AIM screen name, you'll be directed to a site called AOL Mail. A little confusing, but the important thing to understand is that AOL Mail and AIM Mail are exactly the same thing.

You can still download AOL's all-in-one Internet software and use the built-in e-mail program (the latest is called AOL Desktop and it's free). For the purposes of this article, we're going to focus on the Web mail version of AOL Mail.

AOL launched AOL Mail as part of its move from a subscriber-based service to a Web portal. By 2005, Yahoo, MSN and Google had already established themselves as free Web portals where visitors could catch up on news and access Web-based e-mail, IM and calendar programs [source: eWeek.com].

For AOL to compete in the Web portal race, it needed to up the ante, so it released AIM Mail with 2GB of free storage, a large number at the time. AOL now offers unlimited storage space with all AOL Mail accounts.

You've Got Mail!
In 1989, a voice-over artist named Elwood Edwards recorded the infamous three words that defined e-mail in the early 1990s. AOL's announcement became so ubiquitous it even inspired a movie starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The Web mail version of AOL Mail has dropped the "You've got mail!" announcement. But you can always order a personalized .wav file ("You've got mail, Brenda!") from Elwood Edwards's Web site.

In this HowStuffWorks article, we're going to explain exactly how AOL Mail works, from setting up an account to the service's basic and advanced features. Let's get started.