Another way for MSN Messenger to bring in money is to include more services that users have to pay for. Gaming, for example, was introduced recently in the U.S. and will be rolled out internationally in the coming months, a Microsoft spokeswoman said. Users pay a monthly fee for access to a game that they can then play with their MSN contacts.
In South Korea, Australia and the U.K., Microsoft offers avatars, digital renderings of people that users can purchase and dress up to develop an online persona. Users pay a small fee to personalize their avatars with, for example, sunglasses, a boom box, a designer outfit, or a hip hairstyle. Since Microsoft made this service available, millions of avatar transactions have occurred in South Korea alone, the spokeswoman said.
|