Today’s post is about something I have wanted for a long time… Being able to access Gmail offline. You see, I use Gmail to send and receive email from multiple addresses (you can add up to 5 other email addresses). So yes, you could use Gmail to send and receive your Streamyx email or any email service that supports POP or IMAP.

So, this morning when the option to enable offline access to Gmail appeared under my Google Labs options in Gmail, I quickly grabbed the opportunity. You see, Gmail has been the perfect solution to all my email needs, especially with the virtually unlimited storage and multiple email address support. But the biggest gripe was it was not available offline since the emails are stored on Google’s servers. This was a major disadvantage compared to downloading emails to an email client, such as Microsoft Outlook.

So lets see how to go about enabling this feature for your Gmail account. First of all, you will need to check if this feature has been rolled out to your account yet. In typical Google style, the features are rolled out to their users in batches. Just click settings in Gmail, and then click on the third option from the right, Labs.

Here you will see a list of fascinating features which have not been officially released as part of the Gmail offering, but are available for mass user testing. While the title at the top says experimental features, based on my experience, all of Gmail Labs features work very well. That’s Gmail just being extra careful with which features they deploy.

Anyway, coming back to the Offline Gmail feature, click on the Enable radio button to enable this feature for your Gmail. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click on Save Changes. Next, go back to your Gmail inbox, and you will see the word “Offline 0.1″ on the top right hand corner. Click on this to start the entire Offline installation process.

Essentially, the Gmail Offline feature uses Google Gears, an application designed by Google to help bridge the gap between web-based and desktop programs. If you do not already have it, you will be prompted to install Google Gears. Based on your usage, Gmail Offline will automatically decide how much email it will save on your desktop for offline access. In my case, it decided it would fetch email from up to a year ago.

While the synchronization process is running, you will see a green rotation icon indicating the sync process is in progress. Placing your mouse pointer over this icon will show a quick status on how much of your email has been synchronized, including attachments. After the initial sync process is complete, it will continuously and intelligently sync your emails between the Google server and your computer to ensure you always have access to your emails, be it online or offline.

So if you thought Gmail was incomplete because it was only accessible online, think again, and enable the Offline mode access to enjoy Gmail in its fully glory.