IIRC GMail isn't exactly making money for Google. I never thought about it before reading this, but I can see GMail being offered for free to drive people away

IIRC GMail isn't exactly making money for Google. I never thought about it before reading this, but I can see GMail being offered for free to drive people away from Yahoo and Hotmail. Chances are once you're on Google services you're more likely to use Google Search (which is where the money lies). For example look at the nicely placed Search the Web box at the top of GMail.