Broadband users get souped-up instant messaging

Yahoo! is today unveiling the latest version of its instant messaging software complete with a webcam feature for broadband users.

The portal's latest effort to distinguish itself from rivals AOL and Microsoft will see Yahoo! Messenger 5.5 provide much higher transmission quality for Webcam users with broadband connections.

The new feature will allow people to transmit video at 20 frames per second, just shy of the movie industry standard of 24 frames per second and a massive improvement on the current webcam resolution of just 1 frame per second, which is geared toward people with dial-up connections.

Another added feature is a new collection of "emoticons" (smileys) some of which are animated. The software will also include more IMVironments, which allow people to download custom backgrounds from advertisers and other Yahoo! properties.

Lisa Pollock, director of messaging products at Yahoo!, said: "We do believe that our innovation and ability to continue to advance instant messaging services is definitely a driver of our growth."

Pollock added that offering more multimedia features is giving the company a "leg up" against its two primary competitors, AOL and MSN.

By Jim Hu writes for News.com