Abstract: The present invention relates to a system and method for fee-based messaging over a global communication network. A method is disclosed wherein a prospective recipient of messages establishes prices for a variety of services and for various tiers of senders. Generally, all messages to a recipient pass to a service provider which informs the sender of the price for a set of possible services, one example of which is the reading of an email text message. The sender then generally pays the price corresponding to the service requested, and the message is transmitted to the recipient.