Yahoo Messenger Version 10 is now available in beta. New features include enhanced video calling, courtesy of GIPS, friend updates from Yahoo, Flickr, Twitter, and others through the new updates view, and improved language support.

GIPS has provided the underlying voice technology for Yahoo Messenger for the last three years. Now GIPS is providing its VideoEngine to add the video element to the messenger.
"With the launch of Yahoo! Messenger 10, we’re allowing people to instantly communicate with friends and family around the world through new interactive and social features like video calls," says Dave Merriwether, senior director of Yahoo! Messenger. "The GIPS VideoEngine enables us to provide the Yahoo! Messenger community with the best video experience possible. Now people can enjoy full-screen, face-to-face chats with friends and family at no cost, in the familiar Yahoo! Messenger environment."
"Yahoo! Messenger is the leading communication platform that provides people with the greatest choice to stay connected to one another through text IM, PC-based calling, mobile text messaging and now video calling," says Emerick Woods, GIPS’ CEO.

While many of the people who consider themselves the ‘Web Elite’ moved to Google’s trendier services a long time ago, Yahoo still has a vast number of users. That’s why it’s still important when Yahoo updates its services.

Yahoo has announced of number of upgrades to key Yahoo properties including Mail and Messenger. The updates see a new emphasis on social data from around the web.

Here are the key changes:
Yahoo Mail
- Yahoo Mail has had a much-needed social overhaul. It will now be possible to see updates from your friends’ social activity around the web (Flickr uploads and Twitter updates for example) within Mail.
- New tools help you edit photos, share and organise photos (including access to Flickr direct from Mail), save and share up to 100MB of files and send money from your PayPal account.
- There’s a new, better optimised mobile version of Yahoo Mail.
- You can find out more at Yahoo Mail’s changes overview page.
Yahoo Messenger
- The biggest update here is Video chat, something that surprisingly has been missing from Yahoo’s venerable IM client until now.
- The social activity monitor featured in Yahoo Mail is also here.