Not long ago, a free Web-based e-mail account was good for merely sending and receiving e-mail. As more players entered the market, competition forced new features. Here are four favorite tricks for taking advantage of free e-mail services:

1. Create an online address book.

Storing your business and personal contact information online is incredibly handy. You have instant access to the information wherever there's an Internet connection. And you're not just limited to e-mail addresses.

There's no need to enter each person's contact information one by one. Yahoo! Hotmail, AIM and Gmail allow you to import contact information. First, the information must be converted to a comma separated values file.

In Outlook, click File, then Import and Export. Select Export to a File and click Next. Select Comma Separated Values (Windows). Click Next. Select your Contacts folder. Click Next. Name your file, then click Next and Finish.

In Outlook Express, select File, then Export, then Address Book. Select Text File (Comma Separated Values) and click Export. Name the file and click Next, then Finish.

Now you're ready to import your contacts. The import option is usually located on the addresses or contacts page of your free Web-based e-mail provider. On-screen directions walk you through the process.

2. Limit who sends you e-mail.

Like stand-alone e-mail programs, the free Web mail providers offer tools to help tame the spam. Yahoo! lets you block up to 500 senders. On the mailbox page, click Mail Options. Click Block Senders. Enter the address you want to block and click Add Block.

AIM lets you create an approved or a blocked list. Click Settings and then Spam Controls. Click Control Who I Get Mail From. To limit senders to your contact list, click Allow Mail Only From People I Know. Or select Allow Mail Only From Senders On My Custom Sender List.

To ban e-mail from particular addresses, choose Block Mail From All Senders On My Custom Sender List. Click Custom Sender List to set up the list. Add the addresses, then click Add and Save. Select whether blocked mail is sent to the spam folder or is deleted. Click Save.

To block e-mail in Hotmail, click Options. Click Mail, then Junk E-Mail Protection. Click Block Senders. Type the address and click Add. Click OK. For an approved list, click Mail on the Options page. Click Junk E-Mail Protection, then Safe List. Type the e-mail address to add to your approved list. Then click Add. You can add up to 500 addresses.

In Gmail, you must use a filter to block addresses. Click Settings and then Filter. Click Create A New Filter. In the From box, enter the address. Click Next Step. Select Move It To The Trash and click Create Filter.

3. Create a permanent address.

You may not believe you need a free e-mail account if you already get e-mail through your Internet service provider or employer. However, the best feature of a Web account is portability. You may switch Internet providers and jobs. But a Web e-mail account always goes with you.

Others can always reach you at your Web e-mail address. Just be sure to sign in regularly, or your account may be suspended. Note: Getting a Gmail account is still on an invitation-only basis.

4. Share your calendar.

Both Hotmail and Yahoo! include an online calendar. The ability to access your calendar anywhere is handy. But the show stealer is the ability to also share your calendar with friends and family.

In Yahoo! click Calendar and then Activate Sharing. Select Friends Can View My Calendar. Beside My Friends, click Edit List. Your friends must have a Yahoo! ID. Type your friend's ID (the e-mail address less @yahoo.com). Set the privileges and click Add Friend. Click Save. You're given a link you can distribute.

In Hotmail, click Calendar. Then click Sharing. Select Share Your Calendar. Enter your friend's e-mail address (it must be a Hotmail or MSN account). Click Next. Select how busy time is displayed. Click Next. Click Finish to send an invitation. Click OK.

Contact Kim Komando at www.komando.com/contact.asp.