PaulSpoerry.com

If you want access to your Gmail from your desktop without running an email client or without using the web based Gmail, now you can download the Gmail Google Desktop gadget. First things first, you need the free Google Desktop software installed. After that you can dock your Gmail gadget to the desktop to read, search, send, and star messages. The gadget has the same keyboard shortcuts that web-based Gmail offers and you can even open multiple instances of the gadget and log each into a different Gmail account. The Gmail gadget is a free download and works in conjunction with Google Desktop 5 for Windows only.

You can grab the gadget from Google Gadgets.