Web-based chatting in general became less popular aswith the rise of [[instant messaging]] systems weredesktop developedapplications in the late 1990s. [[ICQ]] was first released in November 1996. [[AOL Instant Messenger]] was released in May 1997. Yahoo! Pager, (later renamed [[Yahoo! Messenger]]), launched on March 9, March 1998. AOL acquired ICQ's parent company Mirabilis on 8 June 81998. [[Microsoft]] launched MSN Messenger, 1998later renamed [[Windows Live Messenger]], on 22 July 1999.
