MSN Messenger 6.0 beta set for public launch
PC Mag | at | by Mike
Today Microsoft officially released the first public beta version of the Microsoft MSN Messenger 6.0 client. The free service currently has 100 million users, according to the Seattle company. The announcement may be somewhat anticlimactic, since approximately 2 million people have been using the beta for almost a week.
You can download the MSN Messenger 6.0 beta here starting at 11AM PST.
Larry Grothaus, MSN lead product manager, explained that some of the official beta testers had passed the software to others and the sharing expanded from there. Part of the testers' eagerness to spread the client among friends might have resulted from Microsoft's introduction of games for the platform. Version 6.0 lets users play against each other in games such as Solitaire Showdown, checkers, tic-tac-toe, and Decision Wheel-a limited number of offerings, to be sure, but the software giant says there will be more.