The icon lets you know if the user who created a profile is currently online. If they are online, you can send them an instant message using Yahoo! Messenger, if they have selected instant messaging as a preferred means of communicating.

The benefits for you having Yahoo! Messenger are that others can see when you are online, and you also receive instant alerts when you have new messages in your Personals Mailbox.

If you don't have Yahoo! Messenger yet, you can download it now.

Note: To send instant messages on Yahoo! Personals, you'll need to become a paying subscriber. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.

Yahoo! Personals IMVironment enhances the instant messaging experience on Yahoo! Personals. When you click to instant message another member, you can see the member's picture and a link to the profile in the instant message window if they have chosen to receive communication via Yahoo! Messenger. You must have a personal profile on our service, this profile is shared with the person you are trying to contact.

First-time users: Click to start using it. At this time, Yahoo! Messenger IMVironments are only available to Windows users.