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Yahoo is tripling the size of its globally-popular free online email service by adding two new domains as options to "@yahoo.com" addresses.
The introduction of "@ymail.com" and "@rocketmail.com" as Yahoo email address options comes as the pioneering internet firm strives to convince investors it is on a path to reclaim faded glory and eroded revenues.
Yahoo Mail is the most popular web-based email in the world. Its profitable ad-supported service has approximately 266 million users, according to industry statistics.
Adding new domains is intended to let users who have outgrown or never really liked their yahoo.com email addresses to have chances at better choices.
"We recognise that people want an email address that reflects who they are," Yahoo Mail vice president John Kremer told AFP.
"We have a lot of user IDs out there and it is pretty crowded. We want to remedy that and make sure users get the ID they want."
Free email addresses are typically assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning newcomers choosing yahoo.com IDs are unlikely to get their names or other prime choices when signing up.
A Harris Interactive study commissioned by Yahoo concluded that 70 per cent of adults using the internet would select an email address that includes all or part of their names.
Yahoo says the rocketmail and ymail choices are meant to give another chance to email users saddled with addresses such as "CutiePie4ever80" or "Mary2455."
"A happy user is one that stays around and is a Yahoo user for life," Kremer said.
"If you have an email address that is your name at ymail, that becomes part of your identity."
Yahoo expects users to readily recognise "ymail" because it is used for a version of the email customised for mobile devices.
Rocketmail has a "hip retro feel" because it is a resurrected email address that belonged to a company Yahoo bought in 1997, according to Kremer.
"This adds millions and millions of new Yahoo accounts out there for users," Kremer said. "Effectively, we are tripling the size of the Yahoo name space."
