Monster in your computer: infectious spam weaks inbox havoc. (Spotlight).

"Enormous member" "Wanna live forever?" "Check my Britneys" "Got no prospects? Earn 10,000 dollars tomorrow!" For some, such messages may be tempting offers. But for the vast majority of email account holders, Spam mail is an annoying violation of their inbox.

"In Mexico there are approximately 12 million active email accounts," says Luis Antonio Ascencio, Director of TRALIX, a provider of email marketing software. "Companies here are just realizing the value of reaching customers via email and keeping email databases." So, will Spam reign supreme in the region?

Before focusing on Mexico, let's examine the general nature of junk email. Taking its name from a Monty Python sketch in which 'Spam' (canned luncheon meat) was the only thing on the menu in a cafe, it refers to the boatloads of unsolicited and intrusive email that arrive daily to millions of accounts worldwide. There are three strains of these maddening missives.

EVIL COMES IN MANY FORMS

Permission Spam: Direct marketing campaigns to emailers who have consented to receive email ads when they register with online companies like Yahoo.

Unless users actively abstain, when signing on to a service like email or news, they agree to receive marketing messages from "Partner Companies." Although legal, the practice has been criticized for the unchecked selling of addresses to third-party firms.

Kronie Spam: Jokes, chain letters, silly stories, etc. that are forwarded by bored workers to their contact lists of colleagues, friends and family.

According to Surf Control, a software firm, on average each email account holder annually receives 1,500 hundred such mails. Although currently this is the most prolific strain, such friendly fire is usually harmless and controlled by recipients telling the mailers to get a life.

Junk Mail: The fastest growing type of spam, this is the most unpleasant and dangerous of the lot. These shady emails are sent to millions of random email addresses at a time by unscrupulous companies. According to Brightmail, an anti-spam software provider, junk mail volume has grown 10 fold in 18 months. Jupiter Media Metrix, an Internet market research firm, believes that 35% of all email will be junk by the end of the year.

Junk mailers are cunning creatures, as many employ sophisticated software to steal addresses as users surf the net, while others simply guess ([e-mail] probably exists). They then use powerful computers to send out millions of messages hoping that some will get read. As any Hotmail account holder will attest, once the buggers have your address on their database, you will enjoy a daily dose of porn, mystical health products and get-rich-quick scams.

TAKING THE BAIT

The most depressing aspect of junk mail is that it works. Some sad fools somewhere must actually fall for the scams (In September, a UK businessman was conned out of 100,000 pounds by some Nigerian crooks who lure their prey via email).

In Mexico, the email market may be immature, but many locals who use U.S.-based email services such as Yahoo or Hotmail are already well acquainted with junk mail. However, more and more spam is being targeted specifically at Mexican inboxes. Furthermore, these spammers are not only purveying porn or selling get-rich-quick schemes. "This is a very new business here," says Ascencio. "Many reputable Mexican firms are sending unsolicited mail. They still do not realize that there are rules to direct email marketing. They have not learned to ask permission before sending."

Having seen the fate that has befallen their U.S. counterparts, regional email providers are taking preemptive action. "With around one million active accounts, we are small compared to some of our U.S. rivals," says Tim Parsa, CEO of Todito.com, Mexico's leading Internet portal. "Most of the spam that we receive is Mexico-based. Our goal is to continue to be the best email service in Mexico, so we are investing US$100,000 in software and hardware to combat the problem."

Mexican legislators are also joining the crusade against spam. A draft bill, called La Ley Federal de Proteccion de Datos Personales (similar to the UK's Data Protection Act), is currently being reviewed by Congress. "This will make firms legally responsible for their email databases," says Luis Navarro of the Mexico City offices of the law firm Haynes and Boone. "Malpractice will result in fines or even suspension of activity."

But will such a law make a difference? Like many things, this will depend far more on how the law is enforced. In the United States, some spammers have been sued under the recent Digital Milennium Copyright Act. However, the cases are few and, as such, have yet to make an impact on the wider problem.

So, in Mexico, the battle lines have been drawn for the War Against Spam. As any great leader would agree, real victory will be won not among politicians or service providers, but in the hearts and minds of those who send and receive email.

RELATED ARTICLE: Defending Your Inbox

* A private email domain with few users is less likely to be noticed by spammers than those with millions like Hotmail.

* When signing up for any Internet service always click the option stating that you do not wish to receive marketing mails.

* Never reply to any spam mail or chain letter. If you do, they will know you exist and send you even more.

* Use the anti-spam filters on your email software. These block some spam mail from your inbox.

* Consider installing more powerful anti-spam software on your computer, such as MailWasher or McAfee SpamKiller.

Rawdon Messenger is a Mexico City-based technology writer and IT columnist for the Evening Standard of London.