Press Releases

Lisbon, 13 August 2007 – Vodafone Portugal has launched the Yahoo! Messenger service, expanding its Instant Messaging offer, which already included Windows Live Messenger since 11 July and has led to over 10 million messages exchanged to date. Vodafone Messenger customers will now be able to chat with their Yahoo! Messenger contacts in the same way as on a computer.

As the result of a partnership with Yahoo!, Vodafone Portugal is the first mobile operator in Portugal and in the Vodafone Group to launch this service. It is offering the service to over 700,000 customers with Vodafone live! phones this month.

Aimed at users who currently use Yahoo! Messenger and Windows Live Messenger on their computer, Vodafone Messenger will enable it to be used on the move, using an application installed on the Vodafone phone.

To use the service, customers simply have to send an SMS to 12345 with the text ‘IM’ and download an application to their phone, or alternatively visit the Vodafone live! portal. The Vodafone Messenger download is free.

As a launch promotion, use of the service is free until the end of October and Vodafone customers will be able to communicate without limits to any contact in their Yahoo! Messenger or Windows Live Messenger list. From November, the service is expected to have a €3 monthly fee, allowing customers to freely send and receive messages with no additional cost.

Vodafone Messenger is part of Vodafone’s new Mobile Internet offer, for which agreements have been signed with the leading Internet brands including Yahoo!. The launch of this service is part of Vodafone’s major investment in mobile-PC convergence, enabling its customers to use the services they are used to regardless of the form of access, and with a simple and transparent experience.