Product Reviews

Over the past few years, messaging software has evolved into something new. From simple programs designed for swapping text messages over the Internet, to all-singing, all-dancing applications that let you swap files, make Internet phone calls, and even webcam calls. Yahoo's new Instant Messenger 6 goes even further, incorporating fancy functions like games, Internet radio, animated 'emoticons' and other new features.

Installing the software is simple, but you do have to make sure you uncheck most of the boxes in the install routine. If you don't, your desktop and Start menu will end up studded with loads of Yahoo!-related icons, and your browser's home page will be changed to www.yahoo.com.

Signing up for a personalised Yahoo! ID is a free and relatively painless process - and once you've installed the program, you can add the Yahoo! users you already know to your Contact List and start chatting. Or you can meet people

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in one of Yahoo!'s many chat rooms or search Yahoo!'s member profiles for common interests. Users with webcams can invite contacts to view their live images, and those with video-enabled webcams can engage in videoconferencing within any of Yahoo!'s video-specific chat rooms. Private videoconferencing is aided by a feature called 'Super Webcam', which clarifies and enhances video output, although this can be too slow and stilted to hold a conversation. Voice chat (conducted over microphones) works better, and has inspired an array of new international karaoke-themed chat rooms. From the Instant Message window, you can check Yahoo! mail, invite a contact to join you in one of Yahoo!'s numerous online games areas, or send a text message to and from any of your friends' mobile phones.

Once you've found someone to talk to, you can begin a conversation in an Instant Message window. From here, you can also access many of version 6's new features. By far the most useful new function is support for Internet radio. This lets you choose which tunes you want to listen to and when. Less useful are the rather cheesy animated emoticons, and the 'audibles', mini-cartoons that reel off some 'funny' slogan. The avatars, little cartoons you can use to represent yourself online, are even less impressive.

Yahoo! Messenger is a useful tool that concentrates all forms of PC-based communication in one easy-to-use package. Apart from Internet radio, though, its a bit of an anti-climax. If you use a dial-up modem, it's hard to justify the time it'll take you to download it.