In an announcement which underscores potential new competition for Google's Gmail email service, Microsoft has revealed that its new webmail service - Outlook. com - has come out of beta testing, and is now available to all users.

Microsoft's revamped Outlook. com webmail service was introduced nearly seven months back in a limited preview mode; as a replacement for the company's longtime email offering, MSN Hotmail, which has been online since 1997.

With the refreshed Outlook. com service - to which all the Hotmail. com user accounts will be transitioned by Microsoft - now boasting upgraded and friendlier user features and tighter integration with social media networks, Microsoft is hopeful that it will be able to attract users over from Gmail and other competing services.

About the bright prospects of the new Outlook. com service, David Law - director of product management for Outlook. com - said in a February 18-dated post on the Outlook Blog that, in the last six-month period alone, there have been nearly 60 million new sign ups for Outlook. com email accounts.

Further noting that, in the mentioned period, Microsoft received a lot of feedback about Outlook. com and made a number of improvements to the service, Law said: "We're excited to announce the next step in this journey: Outlook. com is coming out of preview, and people everywhere can get started and give it a try at Outlook. com."