Google confirms Gmail's pending makeover

Google is about to give your Gmail inbox a makeover.

A YouTube video leaked on to the Web (subsequently deleted but since reposted) shows off the new interface for the Web giant's e-mail service. Jason Cornwell, a user experience designer for Gmail, walks viewers through the major changes ahead.

A Google representative confirmed the video's authenticity but declined to provide further details.

"Oops, you weren't supposed to see that," Google representative Andrea Freund told CNET. "Stay tuned, we'll be sharing more info on Gmail's new look soon."

The new look is designed to be cleaner, simpler, and more intuitive, he said. One of the biggest changes is that the Gmail window will automatically adapt to whatever size the user chooses.

Conversations have been redesigned to "feel more like a real conversation," he said, noting that user profile pictures have been added next to their comments, similar to how many instant messaging and chat applications work.

Google is making the size of the label and chat areas on the left more flexible, he said. "Even if you do nothing, Gmail adapts to you," he said. Gmail has also overhauled search to make it more customizable.

Google has also updated Gmail themes for user's windows with high-resolution images such as sunsets, grass, and stones.

The changes, which Google gave us a sneak peek of in June, will be rolled out incrementally over the next few months "to allow plenty of time to understand and incorporate your feedback into the evolving design," Cornwell said.

In addition to the Gmail changes coming soon, Google will be introducing a brand-new design for its Reader app that integrates Google+ social features.