International snail mail is set to fall victim to a collapse in the number of letters being sent as people increasingly use email and social network sites to communicate.
New Zealand Post today announced international economy letters - which can take up to three weeks to reach their destination - will be discontinued from October 1.
"The volumes of letters being sent by that method have fallen so low that for letters it is no longer economically viable," New Zealand Post spokesman Michael Tull said.
People will still be able to send parcels by the international economy service and the international air mail service remains unchanged.
- NZPA