Microsoft introduces 'aliases' for Hotmail

Microsoft has introduced aliases to for Hotmail email – allowing you to manage multiple email aliases from a single Hotmail account.

Microsoft has been making key changes to Hotmail as it looks to stave off competition from the likes of Google's Gmail, and that now includes the ability to use a different email address within the webmail service.

"The email address a person uses is a big part of their online identity," blogged Microsoft's Dharmesh Mehta.

"The average person maintains three different email addresses in order to organize different types of email, maintain different personas, or keep junk mail away from a primary email address.

"So there are many good reasons that people want multiple email addresses, but maintaining multiple accounts, with different user names and passwords that require you to check multiple inboxes, is inefficient.

"With today's update, Hotmail helps you save time by making it easier to manage your current and future email addresses in one place."

15 total

Hotmail will now let you add up to link up five email aliases a year that are completely different from your main hotmail address (so, not just the now familiar address+keyword addition).

"You might also be concerned that your address could be sold to other companies or could result in a large amount of new email that you don't want or doesn't belong in the same place as your regular email, adds Mehta.

"Or maybe you want an address that's better suited to your hard-core gaming persona rather than your normal, professional one.

"Starting today, you can add up to five aliases per year to your Hotmail account, up to fifteen aliases in total, all designed to make it a lot easier to organize different types of email and personas in one Hotmail inbox without having to give out your primary email address if you don't want to."