AIM Mail, which is available to any AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) user, is being delivered via the new v. 5.9 of AOL's AIM client.
With 2GB of free storage -- eight times more than Hotmail, for instance, and equal to what Google's Gmail offers -- AIM Mail also provides free anti-virus scanning and anti-spam filtering.
AIM Mail went into beta testing less than a month ago, when AOL executives touted its tight integration with AIM 5.9 and the leg-up the mail service would have by virtue of AIM's 22 million current users.
AOL will roll out AIM Mail across its AIM user base this week, the Dulles, Va.-based ISP said. When AIM users log on to the instant messaging network, they'll be given a chance to activate a e-mail account using their AIM username.
AIM 5.9 can be downloaded from the AOL Web site.