Reports on CNET last week claimed that Goodmail, the certified email provider, has signed five of the largest Internet service providers in the U.S. "to start charging businesses for guaranteed delivery of their e-mails, in a bid to combat spam."

According to CNET, "Goodmail Systems, which provides a service called CertifiedEmail, announced Thursday that it had signed up Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable's Road Runner and Verizon as customers. E-mails certified using the system will be marked with a blue ribbon to show they come from a trusted source, thus bypassing spam filters--a privilege that will cost the sender a quarter of a U.S. cent per e-mail."