MSN Hotmail, in an attempt to provide
better privacy to its users, Wednesday announced a feature that will erase
messages once a user logs off the system.
The service is designed for subscribers who use public terminals such as
those found in Internet cafes, public libraries and universities.
This login option expires pages from the browser’s cache when a user logs out
of an account. With the tool, the pages visited while in Hotmail cannot be
viewed by other users of a shared computer, the company said.
Hotmail also Wednesday launched local language versions of the e-mail
service in French, German and Japanese, in an effort to support its growing
globality. The company boasts 40 million users, and said the in-language
service will target the 27 million Internet users who speak those
languages. International users account for more than half its membership-base.
New members can select their
local language during the registration process, while existing members can
choose their language at
login or permanently change the language setting in their preferences folder.
“Offering Hotmail in other languages is a logical extension of our mission
to make the service as
accessible and easy-to-use as possible, while satisfying a strong demand
for free e-mail services around
the world,” said Don Bradford, Hotmail’s general manager.