60% of IM users prefer MSN Messenger

quoted: http://arstechnica.com/journals/microsoft.ars/2006/4/11/3557

What client do you use for instant messaging? According to a recent study by comScore Networks, there's a decent chance that it's MSN Messenger, which lassoed in 61 percent of worldwide instant messaging (IM) market share.

Besides determining the leading IM client, the survey also returned a hodgepodge of other interesting results. For instance, Europe has more people (82 million) using IM than the United States (69 million) does, which amounts to 49 percent and 37 percent of web users in the respective locations. In the United States, MSN Messenger usage is about even with AOL Instant Messenger usage while Yahoo's IM client only trails by a few notches. One other interesting point mentioned in the survey: 14 percent of all instant messengers use Skype, but that only amounts to 3 percent of IM users in the United States.

comScore based its survey on roughly 2 million consumers who gave the company permission to track their online habits. Companies which use comScore's services consist of AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, and Merck and Orbitz