The notion of eliminating spam by charging people to send you email is often scoffed at but, as the spam deluge worsens, the idea continues to resurface.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the latest proponent of the pay-per-send email system as part of his pledge to can spam within two years.

Of the three spam elimination methods Microsoft is working on, the sender-pays system is the most likely long-term solution, Gates told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.

"Spam will soon be a thing of the past," Gates said, with "payment at risk" - the electronic equivalent of a stamp - allowing users to set different monetary thresholds for different senders.

By Adam Turner at The Age.

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