Until now most people were sick of having to add lots of numbers and underscores after their name to get an individual hotmail address (why anyone is using hotmail when BetterWebSpace can offer you a website and your own domain name for less than £22 per year is beyond me!).

But with the launch of hotmail.co.uk this might ease the pressure, as all of those names will be available again.

However, the most popular first names @hotmail.co.uk are going to be auctioned off on eBay, to raise money for the NSPCC. So if you want that name – get bidding!