!!! Overview[1]
[{$pagename}] can be used only with e-mail applications (such as Exchange) to send e-mail to collections of users. 

[{$pagename}]s are not security-enabled, which means that they cannot be listed in [Discretionary Access Control] lists (DACLs). If you need a group for controlling access to shared [Microsoft Active Directory] resources, create a [Security Group].

[Active Directory Groups] are either a [{$pagename}] or [Security Group].

!! Converting between [Security Group] and [{$pagename}]
A [group] can be converted from a security group to a distribution group, and vice versa, at any time, but only if the domain functional level is set to Windows 2000 native or higher. No groups can be converted while the domain functional level is set to Windows 2000 mixed.

!! More Information
There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:
[{ReferringPagesPlugin before='*' after='\n' }]
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* [#1] - [Group types|http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781446.aspx|target='_blank'] - based on information obtained 2014-10-12