WebProNews

Overseas government computers are now blocked from connecting to commercial web-based email services like Gmail.

Stars and Stripes said the Navy and the Marine Corps took steps on Tuesday to deny access to commercial email accounts from base libraries and library centers connected to official government networks.

AOL Mail, MSN Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail fall into the group blocked by the military. Access to those services was perceived as a potential problem by Navy policymakers.

"By going through some of the commercial Web-based e-mail accounts, it opens up vulnerabilities to government-run networks and presents too high risk to be acceptable," Neal Miller, a senior plans and policy manager with Naval Network Warfare Command in Norfolk, said in the report.

The policy covers Navy and Marine personnel, and Department of Defense employees and contractors who use Navy computer systems. Instead of using commercial email, Marines and sailors can use an unclassified email account provided to each member by the Navy.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.