IM is exactly what it says on the tin ~ Instant! It is much quicker than email because with email you can’t really tell when someone has read your reply unless you have a Hotmail address which allows you pick an option to be told when the recipient has read your email. You can use Yahoo IM to anyone whom you have added as a Contact and who has accepted your invitation. There are various options available too such as numerous emoticons, audibles (little characters who speak, such as Disney characters) and Environmentals. You can use a webcam, play games with a contact and use a headset which allows you to talk to your contact as if you were talking on the phone. You have to buy a headset though. I think there are around £15. With IM, you have the option to appear “Invisible”, “Offline”, or “Busy” to all your contacts if you want to. There is also an option to appear as “invisible” permanently to an individual contact. There are a few IM sites as well as Yahoo. If you use Yahoo IM, when