After months of waiting, a beta version of AOL Instant Messenger 5 has silently slipped out the door for public consumption, transforming myth into reality -- a surprising feat, given how radical the changes are to America Online's popular instant messaging client. In early May, the air was rife with rumors and innuendo from sources deep inside AOL TimeWarner's Web properties division, headed up by former Netscape chief Jim Bankoff. eWeek was told that something big was being cooked up for future releases of its instant messaging software, with the company mulling aggressively expanding AIM and its capabilities with a release slated for the late summer.

America Online's plan was to integrate a media into AIM and possibly browsing functionality. AOL wants to revamp its Web properties and draw more impressions to its sites and content. AIM was seen as a vehicle to achieve these goals. As forecasted, the AIM 5 beta includes "content panels" that shift the software's main window among the buddy list, Web content (music, news, and entertainment), and online extensions such as expressions and buddy icons. "We are testing the waters as part of an ongoing effort to enhance the IM experience," said Derick Mains, an AOL spokesman. "It is specifically important to solicit user feedback from AIM fans, and we are encouraging users to test and give feedback." Mains declined to comment on whether or not AOL is taking aim at MSN 7.