Apple is beginning to enable @iCloud.com email addresses for developers with the new release of iOS 6 Beta 3 today. When iOS 6 arrives this fall, it will bring with it the opportunity for iCloud service users to get their own email account ending in iCloud.com.

Word of this development comes Monday as iOS 6 Beta 3 has been seeded to Apple’s developers. The release notes effectively spilled the beans on the new email feature. "icloud.com email addresses are now available for iCloud mail users," the notes read.

"●iCloud.com email addresses are now available for iCloud mail users. Users signing up for new Apple IDs, or enabling Mail on their iCloud account for the first time, will automatically receive an @icloud.com email address instead of a me.com email address. iCloud users with @me.com addresses that have been used with iOS 6 beta 3 will receive an @icloud.com email address that matches their @me.com address."

"Users signing up for new Apple IDs, or enabling Mail on their iCloud account for the first time, will automatically receive an iCloud email address instead of a me.com email address," the notes add, "iCloud users with me.com addresses that have been used with iOS 6 beta 3 will receive an iCloud email address that matches their me.com address."

Naturally, unless you're a dev installing the Beta, you'll have to wait until iOS 6 drops this fall in order to take advantage of the new iCloud.com email accounts. Nonetheless, Apple is clearly looking to expand its users' entrenchment in all Apple services and platforms.

No word yet on what Apple will do with the .me accounts that are already in existence.

via modmyi