Yahoo discontinues Vista-optimized IM program

Yahoo Messenger for Vista was one of the few consumer applications designed to run only on the latest version of Windows.

One of the first applications designed to run only on Windows Vista has been discontinued.

Yahoo said on Friday that it has stopped development of Yahoo Messenger for Vista, a Vista-specific version of its instant-messaging program.

The custom implementation of Yahoo Messenger was one of the earliest, most mainstream, and highest profile programs to only run on Windows Vista.

"Yahoo has made the strategic decision to discontinue external releases of the stand-alone Yahoo Messenger for Vista client and focus on delivering one Windows experience that is optimized for Windows users today," Yahoo's Terrell Karlsten said in a statement to CNET News.

"This decision will help Yahoo increase efficiencies and deliver one consistent, full-featured solution for Windows users--whether they are using XP or Vista."

Yahoo released a public preview version in December and issued a beta version in March. The Internet company won't stop users who have already downloaded the program from continuing to use it, but it won't be offering any further updates.

"Moving forward we encourage Vista users to download our full-featured Yahoo Messenger 9.0 client, which is compatible with XP and Vista," Karlsten said.

Yahoo also said it will continue to experiment with Windows Presentation Foundation, the graphics layer that powers Windows Vista.