Google today graduated its Offline feature for GMail from Google Labs to main product.GMail off line lets user to use GMail when they are not connected to the Internet.It uses Google Gears technology to store the emails in the user’s machine.Its a competitor to the products like Microsoft Outlook which are used for accessing email in absence of Internet.

But there is twist in the story. When you enable off line mode in GMail it stores emails in your systems and also installs a desktop shortcut and takes you to gmail.

OMG!! It only asks for user name….not mention of password!!!.

It means if your laptop or netbook stolen , thief can access all your off-line messages by just entering your username. Its a serious threat since GMail off line feature holds key in its fore coming Chrome OS.It lacks the password locking facility provided by the products like Outlook.

So think before you enable off-line feature in your account .