Thursday, May 3 12:00 AM ET

Patch Allows World of Warcraft Mail
To Be Checked in Gmail

Mountain View, CA - Blizzard announced that in the next patch for World of Warcraft players would be able to check in-game mail through Google's gmail. The much needed ability will allow players to see if their Glowing Brightwood Staff or Libram of Focus sold at auction without the anxiety of waiting until they get home from work.

To check in-game mail players will need a gmail account and an add-on from Blizzard. Frank Ragnos from Google was excited by the partnership. "Many World of Warcraft players don't have gmail accounts, so we see this as a real engine for growth."

As part of the agreement with Blizzard, Google agreed to slow down the password authenticating processs. "We don't want users outside of the game to have an advantage over game players," said Marc Kassenbaum from Blizzard. "We asked for a ten to fifteen minute delay when logging into the account with random disconnects for added realism."

Players were enthusiastic about the announcement. "I don't spend much time outside of Warcraft," said Harold Gramble from Indianapolis. "If I do leave the game it's good to know I can keep up to date."

For now the service, dubbed WoWmail, will be limited to reading mail only, but Blizzard hinted future patches may expand functionality.