C:\Documents and Settings\UserXP>ping pop3.blueyonder.co.uk
Pinging pop3.blueyonder.co.uk [195.188.53.61] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 195.188.53.61: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=118
Reply from 195.188.53.61: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=118
Reply from 195.188.53.61: bytes=32 time=51ms TTL=118
Reply from 195.188.53.61: bytes=32 time=47ms TTL=118
Ping statistics for 195.188.53.61:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 47ms, Maximum = 66ms, Average = 52ms
There you go buddy, just replace pop3 for smtp to ping smtp servers.
And ntlworld.com are for ex-ntl areas.
Having hotmail won't cause any problems
Let us know how you get on.