Gmail Adds RSS, Attachment Viewing

Google has upgraded its Gmail service with a few new features, including a built in RSS reader and address shortcuts. RSS feeds appear as "Clips" on the top of the Gmail screen and users can choose from random popular feeds or input their own. Yahoo added a similar feature to its private Mail Beta last week.

Shortcuts, which display next to messages, take addresses and tracking numbers that appear in an e-mail and automatically link to maps and package information. Attachment support has also been improved. Users can choose to view Microsoft Office, OpenOffice or PDF documents as HTML files directly within Gmail without loading a separate software application.