On Tuesday, Microsoft announced a limited public beta test of technology that will let users of its Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice connect with one another. The competing IM products are the top two IM solutions on the market and are used by several hundreds of millions of users each day. "This first-of-its-kind interoperability between consumer IM leaders Microsoft and Yahoo! gives our customers tremendous control, convenience, and freedom in their Web communication experiences," says Blake Irving, Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Windows Live Platform group. "We're proud to deliver this latest advancement in IM services that empower people to communicate with virtually whomever they want, wherever they want, and whenever they want." Microsoft originally promised to link Windows Live Messenger to Yahoo! Messenger while Windows Live Messenger was in beta. Using the two tools, users will be able to exchange instant messages, determine whether friends are online, view personal status messages, use common emoticons, send offline IM messages, and add new contacts from either service. The technology that links Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger is free. The new beta program will be available in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (in both English and French), China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States (in English and Spanish).
Microsoft, Yahoo Link Instant Messaging Solutions
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