Your choice of an instant-messaging tool depends mostly on what your friends and coworkers use—which is likely to be AIM—but based purely on capabilities, we pick MSN Messenger 6.0. It was a close call between Yahoo! Messenger and Microsoft's IM product, but MSN Messenger delivers the slickest interface and the best integration. The software's video, file-sharing, and gaming features are integrated with the chat window, which makes using them a breeze. And MSN Messenger took top marks on our audio test.

Yahoo! Messenger deserves honorable mention for its integration with Yahoo!'s personal portal, e-mail, and group chat services. We also like its privacy features, such as the ability to sign on in "invisible" mode. If you prefer a cleaner interface over bells and whistles and don't mind video in separate windows, Yahoo! Messenger is a good choice.

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