Yahoo quietly released a new version of its instant messenger software, jazzing up the chat interface for users while expanding marketing opportunities for advertisers.

Yahoo made Messenger 5.0 available for download this weekend, in the process launching its new IMVironments, or themed animated backgrounds for chat windows.

A test, or beta, version of the messenger launched in October.

The new interface options let two people with YIM 5.0 installed trade messages in richly illustrated and sometimes animated and interactive windows. The themes range from a generic animated snowfall to branded themes by the rock band Garbage, the Nintendo video game Super Smash Bros. Melee, and the new Disney and Pixar movie, Monsters Inc.

In the Nintendo IMVironments, people can opt to display their messages in cartoon speech bubbles coming from game characters of their choice. With the Chatables IMVironment, people can fire off canned quips by actor Will Smith and run video and listen clips in the chat window.

The whimsical new interfaces reflect a general trend toward treating the instant messaging application as a platform for more than traditional text-based chat, opening up opportunities for portals and other advertisers now struggling to design more attention-getting ad formats than the traditional Web banner.

The crash of the advertising market has hit Yahoo hard, and the company's restructuring plan will result in layoffs.

The changes are also reminiscent of new features introduced to AOL Time Warner's browser and chat applications.

Last year, division Netscape Communications introduced offer a variety of "skins" with which users can cover the company's Web browser. AOL's IM application, meanwhile, has become the vector for innovative marketing ploys, such as automated chat buddies that give information about rock bands and other media entities.

While marketers evaluate Yahoo's new messenger, users appear to be taking a cotton to it. Some had a few suggestions for future IMVironments, as well.

"The IMViroments are great," said 19-year-old Web design student Mike D. in a voice messenger interview from his home. "They are somewhat interactive. But they need to make some better ones, like Star Wars or Star Trek or actual movie-based environments, so you get the character of the movie saying the words. That would take a bit of programming but would be worth having."

In addition to the interface options, Yahoo added quick launch buttons for sending files and starting video and audio chats. Users also reported quicker performance with the new software.

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