 <p>If .NET 4 is an option, I'd strongly recommend having a look at the <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd267265(VS.100).aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>ConcurrentQueue&lt;T&gt;</code></a> and possibly even wrapping it with a <a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd267312(VS.100).aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><code>BlockingCollection&lt;T&gt;</code></a> if that suits your needs.</p>