By the early 2000s, Google had already established itself as a leading Internet search engine, but in 2004, the company began to dabble in email service as well. The idea for Gmail was first created by Rajen Sheth and then developed by Paul Buchheit.

On this day, April 1, in 2004, Google launched an invite-only, beta email product called Gmail. Google would continue to develop the email service until it was released to the general public on February 7, 2007. Gmail is free to its users and supported primarily through advertising. Gmail created a new standard for free storage by giving its users 1 GB of initial storage capacity. It also offers a larger attachment size, 25 MB, than other free email services. Gmail features spam filtering, a search-oriented interface and it is known for its presentation style, which is similar to an Internet forum.

Since being released to the public, Gmail has gained 350 million users worldwide and offers its email service in 54 languages. Gmail has also introduced a variety of additional features including Gmail Mobile, Google Buzz, Gmail Labs, and Offline Google Mail.