A method and apparatus for the re-routing of e-mail sent to a prior address (or
an address that is non-working, or temporarily inconvenient) to the new address
of an intended recipient. E-mail that is to be sent to a recipient is sent to the
former Internet Service Provider (ISP). Because the recipient is no longer a subscriber
to the old ISP, or because the address at the old ISP is temporarily inconvenient,
the e-mail is re-routed to a re-route server of the present invention. The re-route
server then causes the e-mail to be sent to the correct address through a variety
of processes. Alternatively, new e-mail addresses are made available at the old
ISP. The old ISP can then forward e-mail messages directly to the new ISP.
