Free Alternative to Outlook Targets Small-Business Owners

BlueTie, a provider of e-mail and calendaring services that could function as an alternative to Microsoft Outlook, announced Monday that it has begun offering its online service for free.

Unlike other free Web-based mail services like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Hotmail or Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Gmail, BlueTie will not generate revenue through advertising -- no banner or other kinds of ads will appear on the service's site. Instead, BlueTie will share in the revenue of its partners, companies like Orbitz and Constant Contact, who will offer users optional small-business services such as the ability to book travel, send and receive faxes, and purchase office supplies from within the application.

BlueTie offers spam- and virus-protected e-mail accounts that can be personalized to your domain name. The free service supports 20 users per account and offers 5 GB of e-mail and file storage per user. A professional version, which costs $4.99 per month, allows 10 GB of storage per user and unlimited users per domain name.