AOL will offer its 41 million instant messaging users free phone numbers in 50 metro areas, allowing others using regular phones to call them while they are online, writes the New York Times. Time Warner unit AOL also plans to introduce AIM Pages, a social-networking effort designed to compete with MySpace.com. AOL plans to profit from advertisements and outbound calling charges and additional services, like ring tones and call forwarding.
The free phone number is a new twist; other, similar services charge about $30 to $40 a year for a telephone number to receive incoming calls. Like those services, the new AOL Phoneline service, to be introduced May 16, will also allow users to call each other free if both are online.
For AIM Pages, AOL has created modules that users can place on their pages, including photo albums, buddy lists and other information about themselves and their interests. It also offers ways to add content from AOL and sister companies, like AOL music videos and CNN headlines, as well as rivals such as Flickr and YouTube.
"There is no question that AIM is a real network," said David Card, VP and senior analyst at Jupiter Research. "There's life in the old dog yet."
