SoftArc Inc. Tuesday released the latest version of its FirstClass Intranet Server which for the first time bundles e-mail and Intranet functions.

Among the capabilities in version 5.5 are conferencing and collaboration, message history tracking and real-time chat through a new Java client. System administrators can also assign different access levels for conferencing functions.

Available for Windows NT and the Macintosh, FirstClass version 5.5 makes e-mail and conferencing functions accessible through Web browsers. Mail can be obtained either through the proprietary FirstClass Intranet Client or any standard mail client using a variety of Internet standards.

The product has been undergoing testing at a number of large U.S. universities including Emory University, the University of Maine at Orono and by users of the Montana Educational Communications Network.