Following an instant messaging bridge built by Microsoft and Yahoo in mid 2006 by offering interoperability between Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, the duo became representative of the largest IM platform worldwide. Still, there are alternative instant messenger solutions growing in the shadow of the Microsoft - Yahoo partnership with in excess of 350 million users around the world. According to statistics provided by Internet metrics company Nielsen//NetRatings, the level of user interest in instant messaging clients outside of what Microsoft and Yahoo have to offer has been constantly growing for the past 10 months.

"The fastest growing instant messaging destination in the last 10 months was Meebo.com, a Web site where visitors can log in to several different instant messaging services without downloading an Internet application. Meebo's unique audience increased 354 percent, from 434,000 in August 2006 when it first fell above reporting cutoff to 2.0 million in June 2007. Google Talk also saw triple digit growth in this time period, increasing 149 percent, from 904,000 to 2.3 million unique visitors. Both Meebo and Google Talk make it possible to chat anytime and anywhere you're online, a feature that seems to resonate with consumers," Nielsen//NetRatings revealed.

The data made available by Nielsen//NetRatings indicates a strong trend associated with web-based instant messaging clients. Recently, responding to the new market tendencies, Yahoo has also introduced the Yahoo! Messenger for the Web in beta stage. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft joins Yahoo, in delivering an Internet based version of Windows Live Messenger. "Now that instant messaging has become an established form of communication, providers are seeking to distinguish themselves with expanded access and additional functionalities. These recent trends in traffic indicate that users are excited about seeing where the technology is going next," said Jason Lee, media analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings.