Have more than one e-mail address? You don't need to check each account for e-mail individually. It's a little known fact that most e-mail programs are capable of managing several e-mail addresses.

Among them is Outlook Express, which is included in Windows. Other such e-mail programs include Mozilla Thunderbird www.mozilla .com/thunderbird) and Eudora (www.eudora.com), both free.

Once set up, this means you can check your Gmail (gmail.google.com), Hotmail (www.hotmail.com), Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) and other Web-based e-mail accounts simultaneously. You can also check the e-mail account provided by your Internet service provider.

There's a catch, of course. To download your mail, you need the names of the POP3 (Post Office Protocol, Version 3) and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) servers. The POP3 server is used to download mail; the SMTP server sends it. Gmail provides this access for free. However, Hotmail Plus and Yahoo Plus charge $20 per year.

Each e-mail program has slightly different configuring procedures. I'll use Outlook Express as an example. To begin, click Tools, then Accounts. Click Mail, then Add, then Mail. Type your name as you want it to appear to recipients of your messages. Click Next.

Type in your e-mail address and click Next.

Enter the POP3 and SMTP server names. Get this information from the help or support section of your e-mail provider. For example, Gmail's servers are pop.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com, respectively. Click Next.

Enter your account name and password. This part can be tricky. With some e-mail accounts, you must enter the entire e-mail address, such as username@yahoo.com. Others require just the user name before the @ sign. Try both.

Finally, if others use your computer, clear the check sign next to "Remember password." You'll have to enter your password each time you check your e-mail. But at least you know you'll be the only one reading it. Click Next and Finish.

Once set up, all of your messages will be downloaded to your computer. But that defeats the flexibility of Web mail — accessing your e-mail through any computer with an Internet connection. Fortunately, you can download messages to your computer and still access copies of them through the Web.

To do that, click Tools, Accounts. Double-click the account you set up. Click the Advanced tab. Click the box labeled "Leave a copy of messages on server."

You'll have to create a new identity for each e-mail account that you want to access. For example, you'll need one identity for your Yahoo e-mail address, another for your Hotmail e-mail address and so on. In Outlook Express, click File, Identities, Add New Identity. If others have access to this computer, place a check next to "Require a password." Enter the password and click OK, OK.

For each identity, you must enter POP3 and SMTP information, in order to send and receive mail. This information will be different for each identity.

Now you have one location to check all of your e-mail accounts. But that's the downside, too — it works on only one computer.

Contact Kim Komando at gnstech@gns.gannett.com.