Microsoft blames spammers for Hotmail charges

In a move which Microsoft claims will help fight spammers, MSN Hotmail users are facing charges if they want to access the email service via the Outlook email client.

Following similar clampdowns from rivals including Yahoo and AOL, MSN will restrict access via Outlook to paying subscribers only. An annual subscription to Hotmail Plus costs $19.95.

But the move comes as paid-for email services are coming under pressure from newcomers such as Google's Gmail, which is free and offers 1GB of storage compared to the industry average of 2MB.

Existing Hotmail users who have been accessing the service via Outlook will be able to carry on doing so until April, when this feature will be switched to paying customers only.

The change will affect new users immediately. MSN said that it was forced to take action after seeing an increasing number of spammers abusing the technology to send mass emails.

Hotmail has taken anti-spam steps in the past, including limiting the number of outgoing messages on free accounts to 100 per day and introducing extra validation requirements when opening a new account.