Message from MS reads following:

Hello,
Starting April 8th, we will begin upgrading customers from Messenger to Skype. The process will take a few weeks to complete. April 8th is the first day you may be required to upgrade. This is a bit later than the March 15th date we previously mentioned to some of you as we wanted to give you more time to make the transition.
To keep chatting with your Messenger contacts, simply upgrade to the latest version of Skype using the instructions below and sign in using a Microsoft account (this is the same ID you use to sign into Messenger). Once signed in, your contacts will already be there. You’ll be able to instant message and make video calls with them just like before, and start discovering new ways of staying in touch, including Skype on your mobile or tablet.
Upgrade now

Yours sincerely,

The Messenger and Skype Teams

 

Almost all the middle east countries have blocked Skype.com from last many years, as Skype was growing a threat towards their voice communication earnings.

Windows live messenger, Yahoo messenger, Nimbuzz were however spared, even though Yahoo (until recent times) and Nimbuzz still have phone out functions in addition to those hundreds of nifty software which could be installed on a desktop computer or smartphone and easily make VOIP calls!

 

With Windows live messenger retired and skype.com blocked, MS is going to have a tough time retaining the live messenger users…

Share your thoughts guys

 

regards,

admin