Hotmail down? It's definately causing trouble

Usually I am not too bothered when a web site becomes inaccessible, there are few sites I can't live without:
-YouTube, FaceBook, MySpace, Digg, Google: couldn't care less.
-BBC, Newsgator, webometrics.org.uk: slightly annoyed but happy to wait.
-Hotmail: I'm tearing my hair out!
Over the last 24hrs I have found Hotmail increasingly difficult to access, with the last few hours being nearly impossible: connections are continuously timing out.

It's unlikely that my inbox is filled with 'can't wait' job offers and business opportunities, but it's the not knowing that is driving me mad.