In just a few minutes, the Yahoo Messenger installer walked us through the free account registration process and also set up a toolbar button within Internet Explorer for easy access. The sleek, attractive Yahoo Messenger 6.0 interface itself is somewhat larger than those of other clients we looked at but much cleaner and better organised than AIM's. The interface is customizable with a variety of colour schemes, making it much more like ICQ. Like AIM, whenever you log in to Yahoo Messenger, whether at home or on the move, it will display your contact list, so you always stay in touch with friends and colleagues. Unfortunately, Yahoo Messenger accounts won't work within other IM clients, but you can use software such as Trillian to mix messengers. You can format Yahoo Messenger text messages with a wide range of font styles and emoticons, as well as audible cues to personalise your specific message; a selection of themed backgrounds, called IMVironments, lets you further customise your messages. When you receive a message, Yahoo Messenger displays a system tray notification with the name of the sender, so a quick look will help you decide whether to respond immediately (by clicking the tray notification) or wait until later. Free conference chat lets you converse with multiple users within the same message window. Yahoo Messenger also lets you select a photo or an avatar to represent you in messages. Plus, if text isn't your thing, Yahoo Messenger supports voice chat (through the PC's microphone and speaker) and one-on-one Web video (if your PC has a Webcam). Yahoo also offers chat rooms for public and private conversations. In the UK, the latest version of Yahoo Messenger (6,0,0,1788) comes with BT Communicator, an add-on that lets you make voice over IP (VoIP) calls from your PC to any landline or mobile phone. As well as free searches on 118 500 Directory Enquiries online, you get access to Yahoo's address book and billing via your existing BT phone bill (you have to be a BT customer to use this service). Calls via BT Communicator cost the same as they would from a BT line and are identified as 'Clic2call' on your phone bill. We were disappointed to find Yahoo Messenger's support weak, despite Yahoo's market pre-eminence. A help Web page does provide explanation and guidance for Yahoo Messenger's main features, but depending on your issue, you may have to dig a few levels down to find what you're really looking for. Luckily, the support site is searchable; however, we couldn't find any links to live or email support within Yahoo Messenger itself. You can download Yahoo Messenger 6.0 here