Google has dropped the invitation-only policy for its Gmail service and made the free e-mail service available to anyone.
'Gmail sign-ups are now open worldwide,' Google associate product manager David Murray said in a posting on the internet search engine's website on Thursday. It said people could create Gmail accounts at the website www.gmail.com.
Gmail has a built-in chat function letting people switch to instant messaging that is offered in more than 40 languages.
Gmail was invitation-only when it launched on April Fool's Day in 2004. It opened to the public on Wednesday, Valentine's Day. Gmail competes with free e-mail services offered by rivals Yahoo and Microsoft.
