Your e-mail address would be what ever you want it to be but it would end with @gmail.com. If you get a gmail account, there is nothing that says you would have to get rid of any of your exsiting e-mail addresses. You can set it up so your gmail is forwarded to an existing e-mail address you have or probably vice versa. I probably have 7 or 8 different e-mail addresses that I use for different things.

The nice thing about the gmail account is that it filters out all of the viruses that I have been receiving as a result of my posting here on the chipboard.

As for people's e-mail addresses; when you send and e-mail that person's e-mail address is automatically added to your contact list. I do know that you can manually delete those addresses and I would imagine that feature can be turned off.

Cheers!
Bill