IMAP server and client recommendations?

[Danny MacMillan]

Hello.

I have six or seven hundred megabytes of email imprisoned in a few .pst 
(Microsoft Outlook "Personal Folders") files.  I've been looking for an 
alternative email client lately.  Of course, the issue is converting these 
old messages so that they are usable by the new software -- ideally so 
that multiple clients could access the mail.  The thought that immediately 
occurred to me was that one of the standard Unix formats -- mbox or 
maildir -- would be appropriate for this task.

After scouring the internet for possibilities for converting between the 
hated .pst format and mbox or Maildir, I found a few people who'd 
seemingly hit upon an ideal solution:  add an IMAP folder to Outlook and 
copy their mail to that folder, then do the reverse inside a client that 
stores its mail in mbox or maildir format.  Then it struck me -- =leaving= 
the mail in the IMAP server would give me even more flexibility.

Is it feasible to use the IMAP server as a mail storage solution like 
this?  Can anyone recommend a good IMAP server (for FreeBSD of course) and 
give me some tips on considerations for choosing one?  I blush to say it, 
but I've never even had an IMAP account.

Thanks in advance.

-- 
D Money