New Yahoo! Mail integrates IM and text messaging

Tomorrow, Yahoo! will announce the general availability of the new version of Yahoo! Mail. The new service includes two new major features: free text messaging to mobile phone numbers (available in the US, Canada, India and the Philippines), and integrated instant messaging (IM) with users of Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.
\n
\nAccording to a Yahoo representative, the new version of Yahoo! Mail also includes speed and performance enhancements as well as productivity refinements. Yahoo! will continue to offer Yahoo! Mail Classic, its traditional Web mail interface.
\n
\nThe new Yahoo! Mail is faster and more responsive than previous beta versions Search refinements Users can now refine their e-mail search results using advanced search options, including the ability to narrow results by sender, folder, date, attachment type and message status to pinpoint specific queries Shortcuts (U.S. only). Users are now able to right click on underlined dates, names and keywords within messages and take additional action, such as adding events directly to their Yahoo! Calendars, adding friends to their Contacts, immediately viewing a Yahoo! Map of an address, or performing a Web search on a keyword. Also added are six color themes allowing user to personalize the look of their e-mail experience.
\n 
\nIn addition to integrated text messaging and instant messaging, it features other enhanced capabilities such as tabbed navigation, a reading pane, an integrated calendar and an RSS reader. 
\n
\nA co-branded version of the new Yahoo! Mail will also be available in the fall to customers using the following broadband Internet services: AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, Verizon Yahoo! and Rogers Yahoo! Hi-Speed Internet.  The new Yahoo! Mail will be available this fall to Yahoo! Small Business Mail users as well.
\n
\nBoth the new Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Mail Classic are free services with unlimited e-mail storage.
\n
\nUpdate: Monday 10am - PC World has a nice writeup on the news.