Made available to a limited group of Yahoo! Mail users; features drag and drop e-mail organization and message preview.

Yahoo!, today announced the start of a beta test of a new version of Yahoo! Mail.

The company says that the new Yahoo! Mail provides a faster experience with enhanced functionality, such as drag and drop e-mail organization and message preview. Just like the current Yahoo! Mail experience, the new version is browser-based. The beta became available today to a limited group of Yahoo! Mail users in the United States and will be broadened to include all Yahoo! Mail users in the coming months after the completion of beta testing.

Enhancements in the beta version of Yahoo! Mail include increased speed and features such as reading pane to instantly view messages, comprehensive and speedy search of e-mail headers, bodies and attachments, ability to view multiple e-mails at the same time, automatic check and delivery of new mail, keyboard shortcuts and right click menus, ability to scroll through all message headers in a folder, rather than page by page, address autocomplete, protection from spam and viruses. It is available on Firefox (Mac/Windows) and Internet Explorer (Windows only).

"This beta gives people a faster and more dynamic way to experience Yahoo! Mail, yet continues to offer the same features they rely upon today: great anti-spam and virus protection, tons of storage, it's all there. We're looking forward to receiving feedback on the beta as we continue the development process," said Ethan Diamond, Director, Product Development, Yahoo! Mail.