Windows Live Messenger IM Control New Features Coming Soon

The popularity of Microsoft's instant messaging client is indisputable, with the Redmond company enjoying the world's largest IM community, but at the same time it's not all about the Windows Live Messenger client. According to the software giant, the Windows Live Messenger IM Control, as well as the Presence API (application programming interface) have broken the 1 billion-served request per month mark since September 2008. The milestone is a clear indication that Microsoft did the right thing when it allowed for the instant messaging client to be included into websites, enabling users to connect and communicate via the browser. At the same time, the company is promising that it will take the Control to the next level, by introducing new features.

“It has been just over a year since we announced the release of the IM Control and Presence API. I wanted to take a moment to reflect over the past year and the growth we have seen. We service over a billion requests per month via the IM Control and Presence API from hundreds of websites for millions of users. Thank you to all the sites who have supported us and sent feedback,” Casey Jones, program manager, Windows Live Contacts and Messenger Platform, stated.

Microsoft introduced Windows Live Messenger IM Control in November 2007, on the heels of version 8.5 of its IM client. At that time, the company offered support for a total of 32 languages, while the Control could play nice only with Internet Explorer 6, IE7 and Firefox 2.0 (on both Windows and Mac OS X). Jones indicated that new features for the Windows Live Messenger IM Control and Presence API would be unveiled soon, but failed to deliver additional details. However, the Control and Presence API did evolve since their introduction.

“We launched a Messenger application for Facebook using the IM Control and Presence API. Then we upgraded it; we reduced the number of clicks required to start a conversation to one, we use your Facebook name as the default display name, and users now have the option to update their Facebook status automatically, whenever they change their personal message in Messenger. We added support for right-to-left languages. The IM Control is now supported in 57 markets. We added support for custom display names in the IM Control. Now you don’t have to use the default 'Visitor' display name. We added colorization capability to the IM Control, which is now available in 7 themes. The color is also completely customizable by editing the HTML tags. We fixed a bug in the IM Control and Presence API so that Online presence is displayed correctly,” Jones explained.