To many, it seemed the height of arrogance: In a bid to dominate the growing popularity of instant messaging nearly two years ago, America Online blocked communication between its subscribers and those using competing software.
Despite much criticism, the brazen strategy appeared to be working--until now. A little-publicized but startling study released last month showed that one of AOL's chief rivals in this market, Microsoft's MSN Messenger, tallied more subscribers worldwide.
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