TechBits Package

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — E-mail has taken a full circle.

Over the years, Web-based e-mail services have gotten much better, sporting many features once available only with the e-mail programs that reside on the computer desktop.

Now, those desktop programs are borrowing from their Web-based counterparts, such as Google Inc.'s Gmail.

The new version of Mozilla's Thunderbird, due out in the next few weeks, lets you keep your inbox clutter-free with a Gmail-like "archive" button for permanently storing older messages, while removing them from day-to-day sight.

Thunderbird 3 also introduces tabbed e-mail — akin to tabbed browsing available on most Web browsers, including Mozilla's own Firefox. You can quickly jump back and forth between e-mail messages by opening them in separate tabs.

David Ascher, CEO of Mozilla Messaging, said that when Thunderbird was first created, the only decent programs around were desktop-based ones such as Microsoft Corp.'s Outlook. For the latest version, Ascher said, Mozilla looked for ideas everywhere, including other e-mail programs that happened to be Web-based.