"WASHINGTON - U.S. companies will need to keep track of all the e-mails, instant messages and other electronic documents generated by their employees thanks to new federal rules that go into effect Friday, legal experts say."

"The rules, approved by the Supreme Court in April, require companies and other entities involved in federal litigation to produce "electronically stored information" as part of the discovery process, when evidence is shared by both sides before a trial."

Read the original source here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061201/ap_on_hi_te/storing_e_mails

These kind of rules aren't new to most IT Professionals, many of whom have been busy of the last few years implementing and testing different solutions to help with Compliance.

The requirements of this rule can be satisfied by a software application that allows long term storage, quick and precise identification of required email, and easy retrieval of those messages.