The idea of charging a small fee to send email has recieved alot of attention in recent weeks. Many in the industry believe that a “sender pays” model is the only way to eliminate spam. Among those believers is Microsoft’s Bill Gates who recently, at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland said, “in the long run, the monetary method will be dominant.”

A “monetary method” clearly has big benefits for Mr. Gates and Internet Service Providers worldwide. The costs of handling email are significant to say the least and charging for email would surely add nicely to the bottom line. But the real question is - can a “postage paid” system really eliminate spam? If it can, I will happily pay a couple of cents per email.

- Here are some arguments for and against.
- Philip Raymond from anti-spam company Vanquish has other ideas.