Gmail shoves 'on behalf of' feature to one side

Gmail users can now send their emails from third party SMTP servers.

Google announced yesterday that it's finally got with the program and opened its web mail service up for users who want to send emails from other addresses.

"Instead of using Gmail's servers to send the message, we'll use the servers where your other email address lives. Since Gmail isn't the originating domain, we don't have to include 'Sender' info in the header."

Previously users could send email from their Gmail account, but it came with an annoying and confusing message that told the recipient it had been sent "on behalf of" another account.

Google blamed Microsoft and others for causing confusion among the Gmail user base.

"Most email programs just display the 'From' address and not the 'Sender' field, but some (including versions of Microsoft Outlook) show these messages as coming 'From username@gmail.com On Behalf Of customaddress@mydomain.com' which really annoyed people," it said.

So to remedy that, Google has finally snuggled up to third party SMTP servers to give users the option to set Gmail to serve as a central hub for all their email accounts. ®