Microsoft Previews MSN Messenger 7.0

The next version of Microsoft's MSN Messenger will offer improved video chat capabilities developed by Microsoft and Logitech, the companies said this week.

In MSN Messenger 7.0, due out in the coming months, users will be able to start a video chat with synchronized audio with a single mouse click, Microsoft and Logitech announced at the Cebit trade show in Hanover, Germany.

Microsoft and Logitech have collaborated on video chat in MSN Messenger for the past two years, and the companies have extended that relationship for MSN Messenger 7.0, they said.

The current version of MSN Messenger offers separate functions for audio and video chat, according to a spokesperson for Microsoft. Audio is available, though the audio may not match the video. This is solved in the new version, which also promises improved video quality, a spokesperson from Logitech said.

Worldwide Availability

The improved video and audio features will be available to MSN Messenger users in the U.S., Germany, and additional markets globally, including Canada, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Korea, Japan, Brazil, and Switzerland, according to Microsoft and Logitech.

The current Web cam for MSN Messenger feature is offered worldwide and is localized in 14 languages.

Each month, more than 30 million of the 155 million MSN Messenger users use the current video chat feature, for a total of more than 3 billion Web cam sessions served since the service's launch, according to the companies.

MSN Messenger 7.0 is currently in beta, the final version of the product is due in the next few months.