Shorten delay in sending mail to SMTP

[Foo JH]

Hi all,

I'm using inetd + qmail to implement a mail server. The combo works, but 
usually sending a mail takes some 5-10 seconds.

I suspect it's largely because inetd or qmail is trying to do some dns 
lookup or something, before letting it through. Is there any way to 
shorten this process - if possible eliminate it altogether?

Some time back, there was an advice to avoid inetd. It's probably a good 
idea, but I hope to deal with this first before moving forward on the setup.

Appreciate any advice. Thanks.