We did it!  Windows Live Hotmail is officially launching worldwide!  This means as early as Monday morning (we’re rolling this out gradually), you can sign up for a new Windows Live Hotmail account and get instant access to our new, world-class email service built from the ground up.  If you're already an existing Hotmail user, you can upgrade your account to Windows Live Hotmail by clicking here. 

New users will have the option of choosing between the full and classic experiences upon signing up.  Existing Hotmail users will be defaulted onto the classic version, with the option to switch to full with just one click if they want features such as the reading pane and drag and drop.  Our goal was to provide our users with the experience that best meets their daily needs.  And we recognized that while some users wanted an AJAX-like experience (full), others just wanted super-fast, simple email (classic).   

It’s been a long time in the making and we're confident that you'll love Windows Live Hotmail.  Not only have we developed a service that is fast, safe and simple to use, but we're also giving users access to their mail any way they want it.  That's right.  In the coming weeks, anyone who is using Microsoft Outlook 2003 (or later) will have free access to their Windows Live Hotmail account via Outlook.  This isn't just your average POP mail... you can synchronize your mail, folders, safe/unsafe sender lists, AND contacts on your computer and on the web!  Stay tuned for instructions on how to download the Outlook Connector.  For consumers out there who don't use Outlook, in the coming weeks, we'll be providing free access to a great new consumer client mail service that will connect with any POP, IMAP and of course Windows Live Hotmail account.  Click here for more details from their team blog.

Before we acknowledge the folks on the team who were involved in building Windows Live Hotmail from scratch, we must first say, “THANK YOU!” to the 20M+ beta users who have been shaping the development and features of Hotmail.  We learned a ton from you over the past two years, and could not have done it without you.  We've received over a MILLION pieces of feedback from you and made some decisions that we didn't expect, but we're sure glad we did. 

The Hotmail team is super excited that MAIL IS HOT AGAIN!  We've been working hard for over two years to bring Windows Live Hotmail to you, and let me just say the fun has just begun!  What users see in Windows Live Hotmail is just the tip of the iceberg.  We've done a ton of work under the hood which allows us to innovate and build richer features better than ever before! 

And since I know you're all wondering, @live.com email addresses are not available YET... but they're coming soon.  No, we can't promise to reserve yourname@live.com  for you, but in the coming months, look for ways to get a new @live.com address of your very own.

Finally, to watch the evolution of Hotmail from 1996-2007, check out this rockin' video. 

CONGRATS TO THE HOTMAIL TEAM AND BETA USERS FOR AN AWESOME LAUNCH! 

- The Hotmail Bloggers: Richard Sim, Ellie Powers-Boyle, Ben Poon, Omar Shahine, Steve Kafka, Vlad Levitsky, Ashu Tewari, and the rest of the Hotmail Team