Pittsburgh has completed installation of a new e-mail system that will make city employees more efficient, the mayor’s spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The city switched from Microsoft Exchange to Google Apps for Government because Google offered nearly 500 times more storage space, a 10-year archival time, disaster recovery and more security against hackers, said Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

Pittsburgh, which spent about $200,000 annually on e-mail and related costs, will pay about $760,000, including start-up costs, for the new system over the life of a three-year contract.

“It allows us to communicate with each other better,” Doven said. “What it means is we can work better. We can work more efficiently. From an employee’s standpoint the biggest change is there’s more e-mail space.”

E-mail addresses have changed for city employees. The new address is an employee’s first and last name followed by “pittsburghpa.gov.” For example: john.doe@pittsburghpa.gov. E-mail sent to the old address will be forwarded in perpetuity to the new address.

Pittsburgh is the third city in the nation to use Google Apps for Government, joining Los Angeles and Orlando, Fla.

Ravenstahl and Michael Lock, vice president for Google Enterprises North America, are scheduled to announce the change this morning.

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