Messaging between users of the same computer became possible with time-sharing in the early 1960s, and MIT's CTSS project had a notable version in 1965. In 1971 the first network email was sent over ARPANET, introducing the @ symbol to separate a user's name from their system's address. Companies such as IBM, CompuServe and Xerox built their own incompatible mail systems through the 1970s and early 1980s. The internet's SMTP standard was implemented on ARPANET in 1983, and after commercial traffic was allowed on the internet in 1995 the open protocols SMTP, POP3 and IMAP became the standard.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.