Communication on the Net is fast moving beyond text with the arrival of customised and animated emoticons, user tiles, personalised backgrounds, webcams and video conferencing, which experts say is all for making messaging 'more real and instant.'
Already 590 million (59 crore) across the globe are using these services and if industry pundits are to be believed, the number of those hooked to instant messaging is going to rise to 1.4 billion (140 crore) by 2004.
India too is fast catching up and according to estimates around 50 per cent of Internet users go in for instant messaging to send their word across.
"Communication on the Internet is fast moving beyond text... it is in fact becoming more real and helping achieve all this are a range of tools which includes emoticons, webcams and video conferencing," says Shriram Adukoorie, director, MSN, South Asia.
Unlike some time back when people preferred anonymity on the Net, today's Generation IM wants to be seen, share information and experiences and create its own space in an otherwise impersonal medium, says Adukoorie.
"Instant messaging is bound to emerge as the most popular technological innovation after telephone and e-mail. It has many advantages over e-mail as users can create their own emoticons to suit their mood and express their feelings.
"New animated emoticons such as 'sleepy smiley' and 'lightning' make it even more fun to express your feelings."
"Also, file transfer is much easier and faster, which also saves time and gives the feeling of direct communication," notes Adukoorie.
He says the user can chat with up to 14 online friends in a single conversation and can even play games with them in real time.
The video conferencing enables the user to see the buddy in real time through webcam integration, while Tablet PC integration enables instant messages to be sent in hand written format.
Through instant messaging, it is also possible to see when your friends are online, shares photos easily, make worldwide phone calls, set a mood with rich, colourful backgrounds and even post an image which depicts your unique style.
Realising the popularity of this service, MSN, Yahoo, AOL and other major players are all coming up with instant messaging services.
"MSN alone has over 100 million users worldwide and 11 million users in Asia... it continues to grow by 75 per cent every year," he says.
Instant messaging as of today has become a hit more with the younger generations. According to an industry survey, most of the IM users are in 18-24 years age, single, more than half are students, and are online almost every day.
However, experts say, "It might have started as an online toy for bantering teens but it can become one of the most important tools in business."
According to media reports, it is increasingly connecting colleagues, partners and business clients worldwide and more than 80 per cent of US companies have some form of IM software installed on their computers.