Electronic mail(e-mail) was started in the late 1960s by the U.S. military. By the 1980s, academics in a number of fields were using e-mail for professional collaboration. The early 1990s saw an explosion of the use of e-mail and other computer networking tools for a wide range of professional, academic, and personal purposes. E-mail is a way of sending a message from one computer to one or more other computers around the world. First, you write down the e-mail address of the person you are sending the message to. Then you write the message, either directly in a special e-mail software program or first in a word-processing program and transferring it into the e-mail software. You should push a button to give a simple command to send the message. The computer system you are connected to will break the message up into tiny pieces and send them electronically to the destination. The pieces might travel numerous routes through other computers on the way. Usually within 2-3 minutes, the pieces will all arrive at their destination, where the receiving computer will reassemble them into a message. The person receiving the message can check his or her mailbox at a convenient time and read the mail. Electronic Mail Range of uses: military, professional, academic and【46】 Steps of sending e-mail: 1. write down【47】 2. write the message 3. 【48】to send it Ways of writing a message: 1. directly in a special e-mail soft program; or 2. first in a【49】, and then into the e-mail software Time needed for getting a message: within【50】