Microsoft has revamped its webmail service Hotmail and renamed it Outlook.com. The company says the new service will help sort messages as they arrive and allow internet calls on Skype.
The move is aimed at streamlining cluttered inboxes in the existing mail service, provide new connections to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, and compete with rival Gmail service from Google, said the company.
Microsoft introduced its new email service, which is a revamped version of Hotmail.
Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows Live, Chris Jones said: "We think the time is right to reimagine personal email, from the data centre to the user experience."
The new interface takes away display ads and large search boxes, and is compatible with smartphones, tablets and the new Outlook 2013 Preview.
The new service automatically sorts messages into different areas to distinguish between emails from package delivery notices, social network posts, contacts and newsletters, Microsoft said.
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Chris Jones added: "We are giving you the first email service that is connected to Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google, and soon, Skype, to bring relevant context and communications to your email."
Outlook.com users can now see email with photos of their friends and tweets that their friends have shared, and will be able to chat via Facebook and make a video calls through Skype.
The users will also be able to send photos and other documents via the service as it also links up with Microsoft’s Skydrive cloud storage.
The new revamped service can be accessed by users at www.outlook.com.
Hotmail email service was launched in 1996 and was acquired by Microsoft in 1998.
