ICQ first came out into market at the end of 1996, long before there were so many other chat programs. This enabled them to build a large user base that now numbers over 10 million active users. Back then there was really one other program like it. That was AOL itself (aim wasn't out yet. ICQ was much better though, and since it was free it helped start the huge user base that there is today and secure its future as number one.

I feel it still is curently number one for many reasons

Quick Messages
With it, you can send instant messages to your friends. They are like pager messages, you get the message instantly and can reply to it instantly. This feature is also good if you do not have much to say to someone and dont feel like writing a long email, but unlike in AOL there is no limit to the length of a message. They don't even have to be online since unlike in AOL the messages are stored on the server until the user comes online!

Chat
If you want to hold a whole conversation, you can open a chatroom. This room can hold as many people as you like so it will be a 5 way conversation for example. Chat even great features like moderation tools, Emotions, and sounds.

File Transfer
Another great feature of ICQ is its file transfer capabilities. You can send picture or sound files quickly to the person you are talking to. You can send any files as a matter of fact as long as your bandwith supports it. This is great, because you can send your friends neat stuff that you find on the web.

Urls
This is another handy feature. Instead of you telling your friends a url to goto, where they have to copy and paste it into the browser, there is a better way. You can send a URL message with the url in it. The user then just has to hit the button to visit the Web page you want them to see or they can store it for later use.

Program launching
If you are an avid user like me you can instantly launch any number of add on programs such as MS netmeeting, Vox chat or even a quick game of Quake. This saves you the time of finding the IP address of your fellow chatters.

Other features also include greeting cards, reminders, and lots of information you can include about yourself in your member profile so people can find you!


One thing I find bad about the program is that because of all the features built into ICQ it might take a newbie quite sometime before they know how to use ICQ. But with a little help from fellow ICQ users (there are over 10 million of us) they will be over that hurdle in no time.



Get ICQ today at http://www.mirabilis.com
ICQ# 170097



Recommended: Yes