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Google has announced that three Gmail Labs add-ons have graduated and become standard Gmail features. Starting today, users now have access to Superstars, Nested Labels and Advanced IMAP Controls as part of the regular Gmail experience. The Google Search Box lab feature, which was added in April 2009, was retired.

The Official Gmail Blog gives an overview of these labs turned features and describes how users can access them in their settings.

Superstars, the ability to use different types of stars in addition to the basic Gmail star icon, was one of the most popular Gmail Labs experiments. Users can now access and customize their stars in the Settings panel.

Nested labels allow users to organize groups of labels, something that can be particularly handy for users who have intricate rules and tagging systems. Users can create new sub-labels from a new dropdown menu or move existing labels below others in the ?edit? options. Nested labels can also now be designated in closed or expanded states.

The final labs graduate is Advanced IMAP Controls. This has long been one of my most-used Gmail features for my various Google Apps accounts and it?s great to see it get upgraded to full feature status. These controls, which are accessible in the IMAP section of the Gmail settings, let users specify what labels are set to sync, folder size limits and other behavior that is especially useful for those of us who frequently access Gmail in a desktop or mobile client, rather than from the website.

Are there any Gmail Labs you would like to see become full features? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, F-Oxymoron