From the address that is entered in the "To:" section of your e-mail, the e-mail server, packages your message into an electronic "envelope" which contains your information. The Internet mechanism involved here is called SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol), which is a member of the TCP/IP family. The provider's computer that handles outgoing mail is usually called an SMTP server.

Because there will rarely be a direct connection between your network and the recipient's network, the message will make a number of stops along the way. At each stop, the intermediate e-mail server stores it temporarily while it looks for the best way to get your e-mail to it's ultimate destination. When the decision is made, your e-mail is again sent on it's way. This process is repeated until the mail reaches its destination server.

Eventually, the message finds its way to the recipient's network, where an e-mail computer routes it to the person's mailbox. (If the recipient uses a networked e-mail program that doesn't understand Netspeak--such as Microsoft Mail or cc:Mail--the message will have to go through another computer called a gateway that converts the message into something the program can make sense of.)

Although this may sound like a lot of work, keep in mind that they are traveling a the speed of light so the time between each "hop" is unnoticeable and almost all of the e-mail servers on the web use the SMTP protocol. This aids in getting your messages to you as quickly as possible.