<p>No more ROFLing, no more BRBing and definitely no more virtual hugs. Microsoft is shuttering its beloved MSN Messenger service in two months time. Lay your virtual wreaths here :'(</p><p>Microsoft has announced the switch-off date for its iconic Windows Live Messenger service, with all users having to revert to Skype by March 15 if they wish to continue exchanging instant messages with their pals.</p><p>The chat client launched as MSN Messenger way back in 1999 and was hugely popular throughout the first half of the last decade, before succumbing to Facebook, Twitter and Skype, which ironically Microsoft ended up buying in 2011 for $8.5 billion.</p><p>It's the Skype acquisition which, naturally, has convinced Microsoft to lay Live Messenger to rest. In the past few months it has been encouraging users to sign into the Skype client with their Microsoft (Hotmail, Outlook.com, Windows Live, MSN) accounts in order to convert their accounts.</p><p><a href="http://www.t3.com/news/microsoft-to-shut-down-windows-live-messenger-for-good-on-march-15">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/11/windows-live-messenger-is-dead_n_2454627.html">Windows Live Messenger Is Dead: Service Will Be Turned Off On 15 March</a> (Huffington Post UK)</p><p><a href="http://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/microsoft-to-shut-down-windows-live-messenger-service-from-15-march-2013-1357906052-1">Microsoft to shut down Windows Live Messenger Service from 15 March 2013</a> (Jagran Josh)</p><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20984820">Microsoft to turn off Windows Messenger on 15 March</a> (BBC News)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=dpjGZKD04_n783Mm11nN68AbS8-xM&ned=us">210 additional articles.</a></p>