Even though there are now some state laws closely regulating spamming, the practice of sending mass unsolicited e-mails has acquired a sheen of respectability, and in some quarters is enthusiastically referred to as "sending an e-mail blitz." [E-Commerce Times]

A change of address notification for new users generates MSN Explorer endorsements to colleagues and friends. Make that former friends. [ZDNet]

The House of Representatives today passed the first bill that will hold email marketers accountable for the influx of bulk unsolicited email, commonly known as "spam." [CNET.com]

Attempting to distance itself from a spam controversy, PSINet cut off service to an admitted sender of unsolicited commercial email and pledged to amend its spam policy and educate its sales force. [CNET.com]

Complaints about unsolicited commercial email have prompted an industry coalition to come up with standards designed to quell consumer concerns and keep regulators at bay. [CNET.com]

Microsoft today said it plans to revise a notification message accompanying a test version of its new MSN Explorer software, bowing to criticism that the feature resembles self-promoting spam. [CNET.com]

AT&T acknowledged Thursday that it had violated its own spam policy by providing Web-hosting services to a purported sender of unsolicited commercial email. [CNET.com]

New e-mail marketing standards promise to balance privacy and personalization. Can the industry police itself? Will it? [ZDNet]

A Tennessee company wins a lawsuit under new state anti-spam legislation.

Picture this: Luxury accommodations on a world-class cruise ship. Free dinner for two. Free drinks. Las Vegas-style entertainment and dancing. Sound too good to be true? You bet it is. [CBS.MarketWatch.com]

Privacy and anti-spam activists have given two thumbs down to the latest attempt at self-regulation by the online marketing industry. [ZDNet]