Abstract: The present invention is a new and efficient system and method for transferring large email attachment files by establishing an ad-hoc peer-to-peer (P2P) connection between sender and recipients. By separating the email from the attachment, the invention dramatically decreases the volume of data transferred by mail servers, allowing them to handle only the body of the message. The attachment files are transferred using direct communication means, which are more suitable for this kind of data transference. All the embodiments of the present invention may be implemented as software components, which can be integrated into any existing email application, or as a stand-alone application including the email and the P2P functionalities. Also included in the scope of the present invention are means for identifying additional sources in the network from which the transferred file may be downloaded, whenever the attached file is a generic file.