Users of Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger will soon be able to interact with each other without having to switch the software. This is possible because the two company behind those instant messaging software, Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have announced an agreement to connect users of their consumer instant messaging services on a global basis. The implementation of this interconnectivity capability is planned to be ready in the second quarter of 2006.

Users of the two instant messaging service will not just able to exchange instant messages, but also able to see their friends’ online presence, share select emoticons, and add new contacts from either service to their friends’ list.

Currently, AOL instant messaging service (AIM) holds the biggest shares on the instant messaging market. They 51.5 million unique U.S. users in September, compared with about 27.3 million for MSN Messenger and 21.9 million for Yahoo’s Messenger, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

[ Via Geekzone ]