REDMOND (voa) – U.S. software giant Microsoft says it will shut down its Internet chat rooms in 28 countries due to concerns the service has become a home for peddlers of junk e-mail and child sex predators.
Microsoft says chat rooms will be shut down in most European, Latin American and Asian markets beginning on October 14, forcing millions of chat room users to find alternative online forums.
Chat room service will still be available in the United States, Canada and Japan, but unsupervised chats will now only be available to subscribers of Microsoft Network Internet service. A moderated service will be available in Brazil.
The company says that by requiring users to subscribe, it will be able to track them with their credit card information.
Analysts say the move will also likely increase Microsoft’s profits by allowing the company to end its support of mostly free chat services, and requiring more users to pay for chat rooms.
