How Does Gmail Really Work?

It's the new-age postal service: email. But do you really know what happens once you press that send button on your computer or phone?

This week Google announced it's “Story of Send” which is a rollercoaster ride through the Google undergrounds, explaining every detail and process of getting your email safely sent from your computer to your recipients.

The Internet community is raving up Google's open-house format of exposing just what happens to your email and how they are one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to environmental sustainability. Google prides itself on its “green-ness”, explaining that they recycle 100% of hardware equipment and have avoided purchasing over 90,000 new computers since 2007.

The Daily Mail explains the animation video,

Although the animation is a colourful land where Google employees skate through the data banks and listen to their music through their headphones, clicking on any of the various Play buttons that dot the landscape lead into very serious documentaries about how Google reduces their power needs and uses green technology to reduce the search engine's impact on the environment.

The video makes the Google data centers look like a fun, relaxing place to work as employees work in Hawaiian shirts and shorts rather than wast energy on air-conditioning the giant vaults containing thousands of hard drives. For instance, 100 Google searches equals the amount of power used to light a light-bulb for 28 minutes.

So why did Google open the lid on their email-sending process? In an attempt to be a little more transparent, but some might look at this as more of a publicity stunt to make users support the company's green initiative. The jury is still out, but either way, the video animation (and the processes) are pretty cool.

Take a look at the video below:

What do you think of Google's new animation of The Story of Send? Let us know in the comments...