Yahoo to embed chat in mail

Closely following Google, yahoo! has announced that it will embed its IM chat into the mail interface.

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT
November 12, 2006

After almost ruling the web-based activity scenario ever since it came into being, Yahoo Inc now plans to embed instant messaging tools into its Yahoo Mail program. This is seen as a move designed to broaden Yahoo's audience with casual users.

The new plan is aimed at enabling users to have live chats in the web-based e-mail platform without downloading any instant messaging software the company said.

With the new tools, users will be able to see if their contacts are logged onto Yahoo Mail and instantly chat with them with a click of the mouse. Yahoo users also will be able to easily send a copy of chat sessions to people in an e-mail, and to copy e-mails into chat sessions.

Even though Yahoo Mail already informs its users when their Yahoo Messenger contacts are online and allows them to launch a dialog instantly, this was possible only after the IM client is installed. If a contact comes online while he is being e-mailed by the user, Yahoo alerts the user that the contact has come online and is available for chat.

In what is being termed as a people-centric, a social internet agenda, Yahoo, in the coming months, will move ahead and integrate the instant messaging tools into Yahoo Mail.