Google has announced that one of its most requested features - offline support for Gmail - has been made available for testing.

The new feature, enabled after users download Google Gears, will make the online mail service more similar to desktop mail clients like Outlook.

The move should also put Google back on a more even footing within the cloud computing space, where Microsoft, Yahoo, Zimbra, Zoho and others already provide offline access.

Gmail engineer Andy Palay explained in a blog post that the new feature would automatically kick in once a connection was lost, using data stored on the user's hard drive rather than the information sent across the network.

"You can read messages, star and label them, and do all the things you're used to doing while reading your web mail online," he said.

Palay added that any messages sent while offline would be promptly delivered as soon as a connection was re-established.

Google has also announced a "flaky connection mode" for instances when connection is weak and intermittent. Both features, currently available only via US/UK English versions of Gmail, will be available on Google Labs.

Dave Armstrong, head of marketing at Google Enterprise EMEA, told vnunet.com it was important to Google to provide "consistency of user experience", especially as a business feature: "Our business users in particular want to be able to use Gmail offline.”

Armstrong added that there was a very real need for offline working capabilities for those travelling on planes and trains, and that Google was committed to further expanding its offline initiatives. There is, for instance, already an indication that Google Calendar will be 'offline enabled' in read-only mode within a few weeks.

Users who are already signed up to Google Apps Standard Edition should be able to access the new offline Gmail features immediately; Premier Edition users will need their administrator to enable offline access.