Microsoft develops successor to Hotmail

REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. software maker Microsoft Corp. is developing a successor to its MSN Hotmail, one of the Internet's longest-running brands.

Known as Windows Live Mail, it reflects the Redmond, Wash., company's effort to make online programs run in Web browsers almost as if they were standard programs stored on PC hard drives, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said Monday.

Windows Live Mail will let users drag and drop messages into folders, use keyboard shortcuts and navigate more quickly among messages in a Web-based in-box.

It also will feature a cleaner look, with white space replacing Hotmail's dark background.