Yesterday Microsoft sent an email to its Outlook.com customers notifying them that no longer will Facebook and Google chat services be supported. The discontinuation of the services should happen over the next two weeks, it was stated.

“Within the next couple of weeks, we will be discontinuing support for Facebook Chat in Outlook.com. And due to Google’s decision to discontinue the chat protocol used by the Google Talk platform, we can no longer provide Google Chat in Outlook.com,” Microsoft said in the email, adding that disappointed customers might find Skype a worthy replacement when an email exchange “warrants richer communication.”

While Microsoft didn’t give a reason in the email for discounting Facebook Chat, it was reported that the company believes that Skype is already the platform of choice for Outlook.com users, adding that Facebook Chat had seen a “recent deprecation” in Outlook.com. Microsoft did not say whose decision it was to discontinue Facebook Chat, and when asked, the company refused to expand on the issue.

The said change in protocol concerning Google Talk refers to Google Hangouts replacing Google Talk. Google Talk doesn’t support XMPP: Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol, an IETF standard for instant messaging that was formally called Jabber. Because of the change Outlook.com will no longer be able to integrate with Google Chat.

Microsoft have said that the changes will, “not impact the connection to your Facebook and/or Google accounts, which means your People page will stay updated with the latest contact information from the services you’ve connected.”

Microosft has urged Outlook.com customers to link their Skype and Outlook.com accounts and also install the Skype plug-in for video calls.

Photo credit: Microsoft