When you sign up with a web hosting company (or Web Presence Provider (WPP) as Microsoft calls them) you should think about your email address at the same time you think about your web address.  Many web hosting companies, such as the one I use, SoftCom, offer email services along with their low-cost hosting plans.

SMTP, which I think stands for "Simple Mail Transfer Protocol" is a server that sends outbound messages -- messages you send to other people.  Typically this is offered by your ISP, but web hosting companies offer it too.  It can be configured to require you to log in with your userid and password, which is recommended to prevent other people from using your SMTP server to send junk email ("spam") to millions of people.

POP3, which stands for "Point of Presence" is a server that receives inbound messages -- messages you receive from other people.  This is typically offered by your web hosting company, and I recommend this service.  The POP3 service is the one that is configured to receive messages to yourname@yourdomain.com.  On your home PC you will use software such as Netscape or Microsoft Outlook to "sweep" your POP3 mailbox and read your mail.

The webmaster and author of this Math Help site is Graeme McRae.