Editing Mail (section)

=== Modern transport and technology ===

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R36070, Luftpost.jpg|thumb|upright|The first [[airmail]] flight in Germany, 1912]]
The postal system was important in the development of modern transportation. Railways carried [[railway post office]]s. During the 20th century, [[air mail]] became the transport of choice for inter-continental mail. Postmen started to use [[mail truck]]s. The handling of mail became increasingly automated.

The [[Internet]] came to change the conditions for physical mail. Email (and in recent years [[social networking]] sites) became a fierce competitor to physical mail systems, but [[online auction]]s and [[Internet shopping]] opened new business opportunities as people often get items bought online through the mail.