Gmail is a free, advertising-supported webmail, POP3, and IMAP service provided by Google. In the United Kingdom and Germany it is officially called Google Mail. Gmail was launched as an invitation-only beta release on April 1, 2004 and it became available to the general public on February 7, 2007, though still with beta status. As of July 2009, it has 146 million users monthly. The service was upgraded from beta status on July 7, 2009, along with the rest of the Google Apps suite. Gmail has a search-oriented interface and a "conversation view" similar to an Internet forum. Software developers know Gmail for its pioneering use of the Ajax programming technique.