Posted by : trraju on Apr 27, 2004 - 09:56 AM WebTechnology

NEW YORK (AP) - America Online subscribers can now check their e-mail using most third-party software, yet another sign of holes opening up in the Internet dial-up leader's walled garden. That means Internet users accustomed to Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and other programs needn't use AOL's proprietary software or use Web-based interface to check their AOL electronic mail.

AOL quietly began supporting the open IMAP protocols on April 5 and formally launched it Wednesday.

``We've had members that have said, `I'm used to using Outlook at work or Eudora at my old ISP (Internet service provider), so why can't I do the same things?''' said Roy Ben-Yoseph, AOL's director of e-mail products.

Before, only AOL's main software, its AOL Communicator and the AOL-owned Netscape browsers supported AOL e-mail. Instructions for using IMAP are at AOL keywords ``open mail access.''

AOL also has been making more of its once-exclusive content available through its Web site. It has been shifting from its proprietary programming language, known as ``Rainman,'' to the hypertext markup language that powers the World Wide Web.

Among other major e-mail providers, Yahoo! also offers access through third-party software, starting at $19.99 a year. Yahoo uses the POP standard to do so.

Microsoft's Hotmail and MSN still limit access to the Web and Microsoft software such as Outlook and Outlook Express.

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