Microsoft and MSN have announced that as of October 14, 2003 MSN Chat, its chatroom service, will no longer be offered in most countries.

Customer safety, particularly protecting children from inappropriate communications online, is the primary reason for this decision.

Also, MSN cited the 'increase in abuse of the Internet', such as spam or unsolicited materials to their clients as a key reason to eliminate this service.

They will continue to offer MSN Messenger, a controlled way of chatting online. A chat room service will be offered in some countries at a fee, with users having to register and make payment with a card, so they can be identified.

The safety of children using Internet chatrooms has seen a high level of publicity in recent months, especially young people meeting up with others they have met in chat rooms and the safety risks involved in this.

Click on the links below for articles on how to protect your children while they are online.