Microsoft has announced its iconic MSN Messenger will be shut down in China, the last territory where it is still operating.
The shutdown in the far east will take place at the end of October when users will be forced over to Microsoft’s own Skype platform.
Just like users around the rest of the world, Chinese MSN loyalists can port their accounts and contacts over to Skype. For their troubles Microsoft is giving users compensation in the form of a Skype coupon worth about £1.20.
Microsoft brought the curtain down on its 14-year-old instant messaging service in April of 2013, but kept the service running in mainland China.
The success of a Chinese client named QQ seems to have convinced Microsoft to finally pull the plug now, according to a ZDNet report.
To all of our Chinese readers now enduring the same grief felt by MSN users across the world until they realised Skype was actually way better, we offer our condolences in a language we can all understand - ({)
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Via: VentureBeat