CNET: AOL Adds Fees to IM Feature

America Online confirmed that it has started charging nonmembers a fee to download decorative graphics, or "skins," to AOL Instant Messenger.

AOL is charging $1.95 a month, or $9.95 a year, for its "AIM Expressions," at the end of March, AOL spokesman Derrick Mains said. Launched in July 2002, the product lets AIM users decorate their buddy clients and chat windows with graphics from popular movies or rock bands and other images.

The move highlights AOL's ongoing crusade to tap into new revenue streams in the face of plummeting online advertising and declining subscriber growth.

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