Google expects to restore all Gmail accounts

Google said today it expects to fully restore the Gmail accounts of users who saw their emails deleted from their inboxes over the weekend.

"We hope to have everybody back by the end of the day," said Andrew Kovacs, a Google spokesman. "It is our expectation that we will restore all accounts."

Google said less than 0.02 percent of the users of the free Web-based email service had been affected by the problem, fewer than previously reported.

Google had said earlier the problem affected 0.08 percent of Gmail users.

Google does not release official figures for the total number of Gmail users but they are estimated to number around 200 million.

Gmail disruptions, while rare, are seen by some industry analysts as a setback to the Mountain View, California-based Google's efforts to promote Gmail and other Web-based services to businesses.