A new BETA version of Windows Live Messenger has been publicly released by Microsoft. All users can now upgrade to Windows Live Messenger 8.1 BETA, by downloading it from below.

This release does not contain any brand new features, but contains improvements to the existing features, accessibility/usability improvements and bug fixes.

Download Live Messenger 8.1:
Official Mirror - English - 18.0 MB

To find out what's new in this release, click here to read the full article.

Roaming Identity - As most Messenger users know, your Messenger nickname (ie your MSN Name) will always remain the same, regardless of where you sign-on from. Roaming Identity applies the same persistence to your personal message and your MSN Display Pictures. So, if you sign in from another computer/location, your Display Pics and Personal Message will follow you. This is probably the most useful feature addition in this release.

the menus for Emoticons, Winks, Backgrounds and Display Pictures have been updated and now contains links to featured content as well as your most recently used content (e.g. Your 8 last used display Pictures).

Other improvements in this release:

• Contact Cards have been updated
• SMS Phone Book
• 'Report Abuse' option within the Help menu
• Improved Windows Vista compatibility

The size of the Messenger installer continues to grow, with this release weighing in at 18 MB. It was roughly 6 months when Live Messenger 8.0.0689 was released, with a 15 MB installer.

MSN Messenger/Live Messenger is quite arguably one of the most active and frequently updated Instant Messaging clients available today. Its development is certainly more active and dynamic compared to many of its direct competitors such as Yahoo Messenger and AOL Instant Messenger. For example, the development of AOL's AIM has grown fairly stagnant and sluggish in recent years, and the same could also be said about Yahoo Messenger, albeit to a smaller extent.

Want to read more on Live Messenger 8.0? Just read our Live Messenger Page, or check out the older MSN 7.5!