The MIME utility is a tool for reading MIME-formatted messages that
    are delivered in VMSMAIL messages. SMTP/MIME based mail systems,
    such as the TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS mail system, deposit
    incoming MIME-formatted messages into the VMSMAIL message store.

    To read and extract binary attachments in such messages, use
    VMSMAIL to extract the message into a text file; then run the
    MIME utility to interpret its contents.

    This approach would allow MIME to be easily backported and used
    on previous versions of OpenVMS, without changing the existing
    VMSMAIL environment.