[1][4] Designed for use by both corporate and home users, it was originally created, in 2001, as a streamlined and integrated version of MSN Messenger.

[3][7] It was superseded by Windows Live Messenger and Microsoft Lync.

[12] Its features include instant messaging, presence awareness, support for Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), file transfer, application sharing and whiteboarding.

[2] Later versions added "ink" support and integration with Microsoft Lync Server (formerly Microsoft Office Communications Server).

Winks, nudges, and custom emoticons are unavailable, and the main user interface more closely resembles the standard Windows XP Luna style.