Yahoo pitches paid email to slow spam

Proceeds from the sale of virtual stamps will go to charity

Yahoo is proposing a new paid mail service as a way to sidestep spam. The company is trying out a new service known as CentMail, which allows users to purchase packs of 500 virtual stamps at a cost of $5 (£3), or one cent per stamp.

Proceeds from the sales are then given to a participating charity selected by the user, and each of the email stamps carries the logo of the charity.

Yahoo is also hoping that the programme will cut down on spam. By adding the unique stamp to each message, it is hoped that the email will breeze through spam filters.

"Anyone you email can automatically verify your donation and confirm you're not a spammer," the company wrote on the CentMail site.

"Since spammers send millions of emails every day, it is prohibitively expensive for them to donate even just one cent per email."

The move is one of many efforts to thwart the rising tide of spam. Driven by botnets and online pharmacies, global spam volumes have climbed to new heights despite renewed efforts to shut down hosts and providers that harbour spammers.