Yahoo! and Microsoft today announced an agreement to connect users of their consumer instant messaging services on a global basis. The agreement between the two IM providers will give MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger users the ability to interact with each other.

Being able to instant message between IM communities is one of the features most requested by MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger users. In addition to exchanging instant messages, consumers from both communities will be able to see their friends? online presence, share select emoticons, and easily add new contacts from either service to their friends? list, all as part of their free IM service. Yahoo! and Microsoft plan to introduce these interconnectivity capabilities between MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger to customers around the world in the second quarter of 2006, and in doing so expect to help make IM an even more useful part of consumers? online communications and communities.