According to Yahoo, we are facing an e-mail account crisis: there are too many similar accounts. In other words, Yahoo considers that there are too many IDs and the newcomers won’t be able to create an e-mail account according to their personality or name.

Also, because there are 260 million users on Yahoo mail (which we have to admit is an impressive number), the new users should register more and more complicated IDs.

The consequence? Instead of having a simple e-mail address, such as myname@yahoo.com, many Yahoo mail users end up with strange combinations such as myname_20005@yahoo.com or myhobby3456@yahoo.com.

So Yahoo decided to extend the possible combinations, by launching two new e-mail domains, rocketmail and ymail.

Through this move, Yahoo has practically tripled its available names and until its service will reach 800 million users, one does not have to bother about the name of the e-mail account.

In fact, saying that Yahoo has introduced two new e-mail domains is not entirely accurate, because rocketmail has been around since the early ages of the dot.com era. Rocketmail was acquired in 1997 when Yahoo decided that offering a free, web-based e-mail would be a nice addition to its services.

However, I think that not too many users will be thrilled by the new name, because it is longer than yahoo.com. Imagine how an e-mail like julie.stepehenson@rocketmail.com will sound.

The other domain, ymail.com is just perfect, but is kind of similar with another e-mail service. Yep! You’re right! I’m thinking about Gmail. Imagine the following conversation: “What is your e-mail address, honey?” “Me@ymail.com, you know, like in gmail, but with an Y."

OK, maybe I’m just a little bit harsh, but maybe Yahoo could have thought about better names.

Besides the name, the e-mail account from rocketmail and ymail will resemble perfectly the “true” Yahoo mail: same interface, same features, unlimited storage for free.

The accounts can be used to access all the Yahoo services. However, in a period in which social-networking sites are the hottest topic and the teenagers are praising the communication through instant messaging, investing efforts and resources in e-mail domains seems a little bit “rusty”. Maybe Yahoo could have found a better use for the money?