Why is my hotmail account still active?

I haven't signed in to my old hotmail account in over two years because I forgot my password. Hot mail says they delete inactive accounts after so many days (90 or 120 or 210). I can still go through the retrieve my password steps and it asks me my location, zip and secret question (which I forget the answer to!). I really don't need to access the account but I'm just wondering why it's still active after over two years of non use....Show more

Thanks astro fan, but why then can't I open a new account using the same name? Hotmail says once it's been deleted the name becomes available again? Considering I haven't logged in for over two years why is the name not available?

Thanks again!...Show more