Courtesy of Microsoft

Dec 29, 2008 19:01 GMT  ·  By

The holiday spirit is strong with Microsoft this year. Not only did the Redmond company build Santa Claus' virtual village at the North Pole, allowing users to track his slate via Virtual Earth, but the season initiatives have spread to additional Windows Live components, namely Windows Live Messenger, for which Microsoft is delivering fresh freebies tailored to the 2008 holiday season. Granted 2009 is just a couple of days away, but there is still time to take advantage of the Theme Pack and the new emoticons offered by the software giant.

“Show it like you mean it with these exclusive download,” a message from Microsoft reads. “To show you our thanks for being part of Windows Live, we want you to show off your personality with these free downloads.”

The freebies download and integrate seamlessly in Windows Live Messenger, even in version 9.0 (2009) Beta Refresh, as you can see from the screenshots on the left. “Cozy up [with the] Messenger Theme Pack. Share the warmth this winter with this one-of-a-kind holiday theme pack. Celebrate your way [with] Messenger Emoticons. Spread holiday joy with our tradition-themed collection of holiday emoticons,” Microsoft adds.

The Redmond company has yet to finalize Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009), although the promise is that the instant messaging client is very close to going gold. Delivered under the new brand umbrella of Windows Live Essentials, Windows Live Messenger (9.0) 2009 is available for download as a Beta Refresh, and will continue to be offered as a part of Windows Live and no longer as a component of the Windows operating system.

When it delivered Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) Beta Refresh in mid-December, the software giant promised that the final release was just around the corner, and that it was simply ironing out the last details before going gold.

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Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009)
Windows Live Messenger 9.0 (2009) new emoticons and theme pack
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