FIRST it was personalised number plates, then memorable telephone numbers. Now the scramble has begun to secure the latest vanity trophy: a G-mail address.

Luxury holidays, rides in fast cars, Viagra and even votes in the forthcoming American presidential election are all being offered as bribes by those wanting a G-mail account.

However, those among you who had not realised the significance, or even existence of G-mail, should not panic — Google’s free e-mail service, which offers users the chance to store half-a-million average-sized messages compared with Hotmail’s 1,000, is not yet open for business.

Nevertheless, cyber-obsessives are already trying to get their hands on one of the several thousand pre-launch e-mail accounts that were given to Google employees, technical experts and journalists to distribute among their friends. The main reason is that many believe money can be made out of registering popular addresses such as sex@gmail.com.

The result of all this fuss has been the creation of a website, unaffiliated to Google, offering the desperate an opportunity to barter with the account holders. Offers on www.gmailswap.com range from the charitable (a pint of blood to the Red Cross), to the illegal (an account in return for a packet of Viagra).

Some have a relatively low value, such as a vote against George Bush, and some go to the opposite extreme, with offers such as an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2004 Olympics.

The site was the brainchild of a Scottish-born Canadian, Sean Michaels who saw nearly 9,500 swaps take place within a week. “I have been astonished, not just because of just how high a value people seem to place on silly little e-mail accounts, but the sorts of things that people offer,” he said.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Everyone will get vaccine against swine flu
• Artificial sperm and the race to build a baby
• BBC staff lavished with trips to lobby for awards