Hotmail users can now create alternative e-mail addresses (called aliases) that link to their primary Hotmail account.
So instead of having to create a brand new e-mail address when signing up for something that may send spam, users can sign up to Hotmail's alias feature, get the e-mail and delete the alias when they're all done, said Bryan Saftler, Hotmail product manager.
He added: "People used to have just one e-mail address, but now they use three or four across multiple services, and using them all to manage their personal e-mail for different purposes is time consuming."
The service aims to simplify this by enabling users to use their e-mail alias just once.
Last year Microsoft added an anti-phishing capability to Windows Live.
This story was first published by Computer Weekly