As expected, MSN and Yahoo have announced their partnership in Instant Messaging. Although from a user's perspective this might look like an easy task, the two companies announced the finalization of the two networks' intercommunication for the second half of 2006.

However, the partnership will lack a few features. Users will be able to use both text and voice messaging but they won't be able to enjoy more advanced features, such as image sharing and advanced animations.

The idea of service convergence is appealing to users, who won't have to manage separate IM clients and accounts anymore, but it seems the alliance between MSN and Yahoo is not aimed at making the users' life easier. Its purpose is, more likely, to prevent Google from taking over this field with their new IM client.

In conclusion, this looks like a marriage of convenience, in which the partners are not too fond on what's going on, but they try to avoid a greater evil.

For each of the two portals, the IM clients are like user magnets, so it's unlikely that their partnership will extend beyond limited intercommunication.

Those who dream about a union between messengers, where every solution will be fully compatible with each other, will probably have to wait a little bit longer.