Google Mail gets a makeover

Google has launched a set of themes for its email client Google Mail, known outside the UK as Gmail, that let you give your Inbox a makeover.

Google's engineers in Zurich have created more than 30 new themes that can be activated by going to the Themes tab under the Settings control in your Inbox.

The full set of new features will be gradually unveiled over the coming days, according to engineers writing in the Google blog.

"We wanted to go beyond simple colour customisation, so out of the 30-odd themes we're launching today, there's a shiny theme with chrome styling, another one that turns your Inbox into a retro notepad," said Annie Chen, a Gmail engineer.

Even if you don't choose a new theme you will notice that Google has changed the default settings in Google Mail slightly.

"We've also done a minor face lift to Gmail's default look to make it crisper and cleaner, [so] you might notice a few colours and pixels shifted around here and there," Chen said.

Watch Web User's tour of Google's Zurich office on our YouTube channel.

What do you think of the new set of Gmail themes? Have your say in the Web User forums.

http://mail.google.com

Save up to £16 a year this Christmas when you subscribe to Web User!