[sofladavid]

Have you looked into IM?

Most of the IM applications can be left running in the background and alert you when an IM is received.

Those go back and forth as fast as you can type.

If you want to stick with email, there are some that support PUSH for free.

For example, if you install "Windows Live for Mobile", you can do "push" with your hotmail account for free. emails will arrive instantly. (Windows live also includes MSN messenger, so that would give you two options in the same program)