Status: Active development.

Link: http://17juju17.free.fr/

Pros: Like aMSN, Mercury Messenger is loaded to the extreme of MSN Messenger goodies to play around with. You won't find a feature in the Windows official MSN client that you won't find here too.

Cons: A Java based app makes for slow performance and sluggish response time. No seeming extras to play around with. The basic interface is unpleasant.

Review: Again, as with aMSN, I can't figure out why the Windows build - the one best suited to Mercury - attracts any users, given the stae of play re. the official client on PCs. On Mac it just dosn't work unless you need the tip top MSN Messenger features such as webcam and handwrting, in which case you'll be forced to get a copy and use it as needed. However, if you're going to go for A/V, I'd recommend you set up an iChat or Skype account.