Virtual Mail Folders is a concept familar to many GNU/Linux users, but often not found in the Win32 OS. A virtual folder groups together email messages into separate folders, using canned queires. The folders don't actually exist as physical folders on the file system at all--the original inbox is maintained. Through this mechanism the mail in the inbox can be separated according to the mailing list that it originates from, or a group of colleagues working on a project, etc. A significant advantage of virtual folders is that you can easily change the organisation of your inbox without actually physically reorganising your inbox or extracting messages from your inbox into other physical folders. You can delete a virtual folder without actually deleting the messages in it!