Outlook is the new Hotmail, says Microsoft

Hotmail is (soon) dead, long live Outlook.com.

In a radical reinvention of Hotmail, Microsoft said Tuesday that it was allowing users to test out the new web-based Outlook, named after the popular email software.

According to PC World, it is believed that everyone using Hotmail will eventually be transitioned to Outlook.

There is, however, no firm date when that movement will take place.

USA Today reported that Hotmail launched in 1996 and has over 325 million users worldwide.

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It is the web's largest email service but is slowly losing that honor to Google's Gmail with nearly 300 million users.

NBC News reported that Hotmail users will be able to keep their @hotmail.com or @live.com addresses but new users will only get @outlook.com

"We thought it was time to push the boundaries of email," said Chris Jones, head of Microsoft's Windows Live division, reported CNN Money.

"We created a new mail service for a modern user experience."

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