Gmail Nearing Prime Time, Forbes, 16 Mar 2005

“It looks as if Google is ever-so-carefully inching toward a public release of Gmail, its Web-based e-mail service. On Tuesday, I read that some random users of Google's (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) main search page were being invited to try Gmail. On successive visits to Google.com, I haven't seen the text line under the search field inviting Google users to give Gmail a try. But I would imagine the company has to be pretty close to throwing open the doors to the general public any day now.�

Full story at http://www.forbes.com/2005/03/16/cx_ah_0316tentech.html