Google is launching a new feature to filter spam out of the inboxes of Gmail users. Called Priory Inbox the feature aims to guard users against the nonsense that zips through the Internet.

The company clarifies the purpose of the Priority Inbox in a post on the Official Google blog. "Gmail has always been pretty good at filtering junk mail into the "spam" folder. But today, in addition to spam, people get a lot of mail that isn't outright junk but isn't very important--bologna, or 'bacn.' So we've evolved Gmail's filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this 'bologna' from the important stuff. In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules."

The feature classifies e-mails into three categories: "Important and Unread", "Starred", and "Everything Else." Incoming e-mail is automatically tagged as either "Important and Unread" or "Everything Else." "Starred" messages are e-mails that have been flagged for future reference. Gmail's filtering process that directs messages into the "Important and Unread" folder is similar to the concept of spam filtering, the difference is, it is in reverse.

Google has developed a capability, based on a variety of criteria, that predicts whether or not a message is important. Considered to be of higher priority are contacts that you frequently send e-mails to and message threads that you view. The feature can also learn and improve by flagging e-mails as either important or unimportant.