Yahoo! Mail now lets users send text messages to mobile phones -- a first for free Webmail clients -- according to CNET News.

"A button at the top of the page gives you the option to choose between sending an e-mail, chatting over IM or sending a text, or SMS, message, for free," according to the report. "You enter a contact's name, type in the mobile phone number, and send a message. It appears in a talk bubble next to your avatar in the Yahoo Mail window. The person receiving the text message can simply respond via text."

CNET News says that this feature will likely be used by people who know that the person they're trying to reach is out and about, but doesn't like using their own cellphone to send text messages.

Yahoo Mail adds SMS, drops beta tag [CNET News]