Google readies Gmail for upgrades

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Google has said it is starting to upgrade the underlying application code of its Gmail service to prepare for adding additional functionality never envisaged when it was first launched in 2004.

Gmail engineer Dan Pupius made reference to the roll out of the upgrade in a company blog. "In the past three and a half years we have launched a number of cool features," he said.

Pupius added that the company had learned a lot about building large web applications delivered through a browser.

As such, the updates cross-fertilise a number of features already used in Google's full productivity suite, Google Apps. Elements from Google's Page Creator and Groups services like, for example, the rich-text editor, keyboard shortcuts and email message bookmarks or searches.

Pupius said the new code update would focus on speeding Gmail's performance: "profiling all parts of the application, shaving milliseconds off wherever we can and figuring out workarounds for some pretty deep-rooted issues with the current browser implementations."

Users of the US English version will be the first to benefit from the rollout of these updates, with international users to follow soon after.

But the functionality of third party tools is likely to be affected as a result of the application changes. Pupius said Google would work with developers to bring add-on Gmail tools up to speed in coming weeks and months.

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