LONDON, UK: A new feature for its Gmail service will automatically filter the most important messages from spam, Google has announced.

Priority emails will be placed at the top of the inbox - while others will drop to the bottom.

The ‘Priority Inbox’ function is designed to help users manage hundreds of emails received daily, reports the Daily Mail.

The new application splits the inbox into three sections: 'Important and unread', 'Starred' and 'Everything Else'.

Announcing the new feature, Google stated: "As messages come in, Gmail automatically flags some of them as important.

"Gmail uses a variety of signals to predict which messages are important, including the people you email most and which messages you open and reply to."

Google said Priority Inbox will be rolled out to all Gmail users, including those who use Google Apps, over the next week or so.

Google described its new filtering system as "your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules".

Messages that initially start appearing in the new priority box will be based on an algorithm which looks at factors such as the identity of the sender, phrases in the message and whether the sender is an individual or a company.

The plan is that emails from friends and family will appear above less important messages.

Gmail was launched by Google in April 2004 and now has an estimated 146 million monthly users worldwide.