Clash of the Free E-Mail Titans: "It's unlikely that Yahoo or Microsoft will leave the business -- or even convert to all-paid services. For one thing, Microsoft has more than enough cash to absorb any losses at Hotmail. And besides, it has a bigger game in mind. Hotmail will be an integral part of Microsoft's Passport strategy, which is aimed at making Microsoft and its .NET (pronounced dot-net) set of software tools the wiring for transactions on the Internet."

Posted on behalf of Tara.