A refresh of Google’s free email service GMail is likely to be available soon, although it will not be a complete upgrade, Google has confirmed.

Rumours of a new GMail surfaced on the web last week after plans were reportedly leaked. However, Google insisted that the changes would not constitute an entirely new version.

“We will never do a complete overhaul,” said Robert Solimene, European enterprise director. “Google has no intention of creating a GMail 2.0 and all modifications will be gradual and dynamic.”

Google has not created a new version of GMail since its launch in 2004, even though rivals Yahoo Mail and Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail recently upgraded their services.

Andrew Gough, Capgemini software-as-a-service business development manager, said that more consumers are demanding Web 2.0-type features and that web mail is increasingly being used by businesses. Google is working with Capgemini on deploying the Google Apps suite, which is attracting 1,000 new business customers daily, largely driven by GMail, Gough said.

Microsoft’s Hotmail upgrade in mid-August has not been popular with some users. Comments left by users on a Windows Live blog are predominantly negative, with members complaining that their contact nicknames have been erased and bemoaning changes they say complicate the user interface.