Public Registration

Permalink
This works quite well up to a point!
I've got it set up so that I (web master/admin user) am notified when a new user requests registration, but the new user doesn't appear to be notified when I activate them (or deny activation). Is there any way of ensuring this happens or does the new user just have to keep trying to log-in?
Another point is that I'd like to put customized text on the User Registration page. Is there any way of doing this?
Many thanks.