This may be a stupid question, but can I check/write emails from any email account while I'm in Europe? My primary account is through my school, and I wasnt sure if I needed something different, like a hotmail account to access my mail at an internet cafe while on vacation. Thanks.

Recommend a hotmail account. You can also get an e-mail account at msnbc.com.

Actually I would recommend against a hotmail account. Many sites will bounce back any mail that has a hotmail.com tag. You can check your "home" email address easily while you're away by signing up with a service like www.mail2web.com. We receive and send email with mail2web with few (and rare) problems.

I would advise you to open a "travel" hotmail or yahoo account, just to avoid a virus or hacking. Send this address to everybody who can e-mail you, ask to reply, and save their addresses in the address book.

Agree with BT sign up for mail2 web type service - that way people who have yoru existing address can continue to use it

i've never had a problem using my Hotmail account. i check it at local internet cafes every few days.

You do not say if your regular e-mail account is web-based or not. If it is then you can access it directly from anywhere.

Well, the company I work with will not accept ANY email from a hotmail or yahoo account. Ditto for some of the publications I work with. It's a common corporate thing to cut down spam. So if darnturkie tried to email someone at their work address using a hotmail id, he/she runs a risk it won't go through. (sidebar: I don't think even Fodors takes newbies anymore with a hotmail or yahoo id.)

But back to the original question, however you get to your email account from an outside location at home, it's the same in Europe.

I have been in many countries and had no trouble using my hotmail account

Hi d,

Just remember to put an Airmail stamp on it, or it will take forever to get there.

You'll need the name of your pop3 server , your account name and your password. With this data, you can acceess your school mail from anywhere on the planet or ask for help from any specialist on earth.

Others more "techie" than I can guide you better, but there are precautions to take in internet cafes before you leave the computer. This to avoid people grabbing your account name, and/or password, and wreaking havoc.

Another reason a Hotmail or other type free account set up just for travel is a good one, rather than using your normal work address imo.

I have tried mail2web many times in the past year, and it doesn't work for me. It simply doesn't connect. What am I doing wrong?

Jed, I had that problem too with mail2web. Now that my email is earthlink, if I'm in an internet cafe, I merely have to go to earthlink.com, enter my email address and password and I'm in business.

Odd, because in the years we've used mail2web.com we've only had very infrequent problems that were resolved quickly by retrying. I've used it at internet cafes and hotels in many places on business to print out releases, or send mail back to the corporate office (something I couldn't do with hotmail or yahoo as the company and various magazines won't accept email from either of those). But if earthlink works better for some posters, then that's what they should use, of course.

I'd start by asking whoever runs your regular email if they have a webmail access. If by "school" you mean it's a university system, chances are they do. If so, all you need do is find an internet café, and log on to the address for the webmail.