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A couple of "boredom researchers" at Bournemouth University in the UK think we should take time out of the instant-access digital world.Instead of firing off emails at 700 million miles per hour, they are literally sending them by "snail mail".Three snails - Cecil, Austin and Muriel - are ferrying electronic messages from one side of their tank to the other at the impressive speed of 0.03 miles per hour. Each snail is equipped with a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip that picks up a bunch of emails when the snail passes close to an electronic reader.When, or if, the snail makes it to another reader on the opposite side of the tank, the messages re-enter the Internet and are duly dispatched to their recipients.So far, Austin is powering ahead - he's delivered an impressive 10 messages. Muriel has yet to deliver a single message. They may need to recruit more snails.You can compose a message of your own here - a message of mine is waiting to be picked up by a passing snail right now. From 11th August you will be able to watch your emails slowly slime across the snail enclosure here.Colin Barras, online technology reporter