Yahoo on Monday released its newest version of Yahoo Messenger, which adds more ties into the companys portal services such as Internet radio, Web search and online address book.
Yahoo Inc. last month released a beta version of what it is calling the “All-New Yahoo Messenger,” which technically is Version 6.0. More than 1.5 million users have downloaded the preview version, Yahoo said.
Yahoo gave its instant-messaging client a face-lift, redoing its look and feel and including new personalization options. For example, users can add their own photos to messages as well as avatars, which are graphical representations of people.
The new version integrates further into Yahoos other portal services. Users can listen to Yahoos LAUNCHcast Internet radio service directly from Yahoo Messenger and search the Web with Yahoo Search from within an IM conversation.
A Yahoo user also can access more features of their Yahoo Address Book within the IM client.
Other new features in the new Yahoo Messenger include a series of multiplayer games, an improved stealth mode for hiding presence information and the addition of 32 “audibles”—animated expressions that can be added into a message to convey emotion.
The new Yahoo Messenger is available for Windows as a free download.
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