"or else" my account will be deleted? and when I click on the link it asks me to login to my email provider? I smell scam. some one confirm if this is legit.

here is the text of the email:

"Dear [*** Email address is removed for privacy ***]:

Mail is holding the message you sent because your email address is not verified.

Please click on the link below. This will take you to a verification page. verification is a one-time process which takes only a few seconds.

verification: <Link deleted>

Please be aware that if you do not complete verification within 4 days, Mail will automatically deactivated this Email [*** Email address is removed for privacy ***].

Thank you,
Web Admin

29/6/2012"

Oddly enough the first sentence "Mail is holding the message you sent because your email address is not verified" was the tip off since I have not sent anything on Hotmail in some time.