note 79932 rejected from function.mail by nlopess

Note Submitter: php dot net at whirlwindtechnology dot com ---- mail() function for use with mass mailing is slow. Any options on how to speed this up? Alternative PHP tools? On an average server (2G RAM, 2.5+G dual-core proc,...) I've noticed that the mail() function typically takes .5 to 1.5 seconds to complete one call. I assume this is typical since it seems this way on all the servers I manage that use mail(). When looping through a few thousand recipient email addresses to send an email, the time to complete can become several hours. This is unacceptable to most clients, especially those in the news publishing industry where timing of email notifications is critical. Is this .5 to 1.5 seconds per mail() call typical or are there optimization options available to speed it up? If not are there any 3rd party mailing functions/classes that can easily be integrated with php scripts? Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give.