Obsessed with Windows Live Messenger? Now you can make it even better…

The Windows Live team has just released 30 new emoticons for Windows Live Messenger to make your conversations with friends and family more fun.
 
From an exploding bomb head, to a vomiting fish face – there’s plenty to choose from and if you’re feeling a little too old for them, the kids are bound to love them.

Download the new emoticons at http://emoticons.msn.com/en-gb/default.html.
 
If that’s not enough, then how about the i-Buddy: a plastic figurine that looks like the friend icon in Windows Live Messenger?

 
It doesn’t just look cool – it actually plugs into a USB connection on your PC and reacts to messages you receive, depending on the mood of the person you’re talking to.
 
So if they type an angry emoticon into a message window and send it, the i-Buddy will react angrily, or if it’s a happy emoticon, the i-Buddy will look happy.
 
Get it from www.firebox.com or find out more at www.i-buddy.com.

If those two additions still don't do much for you, then the Windows Live Team has also released a new game that you can play with your friends in Windows Live Messenger.

Jigsaw Too Photo allows you to play jigsaw against a friend in a chat window, but it's not ordinary jigsaw - you use photos stored in your Pictures folder on your PC which the game dissasembles and then you and your friend have to reasemble it. The person who pieces together the most bits of the photo wins!

To get it, just click on the games button in a chat window. It's free for 30 days, but after this you need to pay about £10 a year to keep playing it.