The Sunnyvale-based web portal company expects to debut a new version of Yahoo Messenger today.
A new version of Yahoo Messenger, currently available as a beta test, will let users call from PC to PC, a feature already present in instant messaging clients from Microsoft and AOL. Voice mail and custom ringtones will be part of the calling feature.
Users will be able to drag and drop photos into chat sessions, as well as other files, making file sharing easier. The client will also have integrated access to Yahoo Search, and will display indicators when new mail or voicemail arrives, or Yahoo 360 blog content has been updated.
The market for users of instant messaging has grown into the millions. AOL has 22 million users of its AIM messaging client, and recently added free e-mail for AIM users. Yahoo has 18.7 million users and Microsoft’s MSN Messenger has 13.7 million users according to ComScore Media Metrix.
Voice over Internet Protocol has become an important feature for instant messaging clients. In the future, AIM users will be able to call any regular phone from their PC.
Users of the Skype service make PC to PC calls for free and calls to regular phones for a fee. Yahoo has not yet announced if this feature will be available at some point.
One problem Yahoo will address with this new release will be the prevalence of spam. Tools in the client will help control and report spam incidents to Yahoo.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
