They are shutting off opportunities for other companies. Calls to AOL for comment were not immediately returned. Before being bought by AOL, ICQ was based in Israel where the company was started. Yosi Vardi, the founder of the original company, is something of a local hero for his success with instant messaging. Instant messaging amounts to a kind of live email.
Users can summon one other instantly and exchange messages in real time.
It's similar to open chat rooms on the Net, but specific to two or more acquainted users. Ronen said the new software was the first time an instant messaging product had been able to communicate with ICQ users. There may be a reason for that. Last July, AOL battled attempts by Microsoft and Yahoo to make their proprietary instant messaging software compatible with AOL Instant Messenger, the company's branded version of a different messaging technology. The dispute continued for weeks.