Microsoft Says Pay Up To Try Live Messenger Beta

Although the beta test of Live Messenger, Microsoft's next generation MSN Messenger client, has been restricted to a limited number of pre-selected users, each tester is given a small number of beta invites so that they can entice friends and family to join them online.

Those invites are showing up on eBay, where bids run as high as $20. Thirty-four auctions for Live Messenger Invites were active as of mid-Wednesday.

The craze is reminiscent of the rush for Gmail invitations last year when Google rolled out its free Web-based e-mail service. But unlike Google, which banned invitation selling, Microsoft's actually encouraging the practice.

"Xbox 360 is not the only thing is short supply this holiday season," wrote a Live Messenger program manager on the team's blog. "So like Xbox, WL Messenger Beta invites are appearing on Ebay [sic]. If you must get an invite and you don&'t mind spending some money on it check out the auctions."

The group is even making bets on the highest price for an invite. "The Messenger team has a pool going to guess what the highest selling point will be," the program manager, identified only as "Nicole," crowed.

Live Messenger includes PC-to-phone voice calls (for a fee), and a new IM feature dubbed "Sharing Folders" that let users drop files onto contact names to create a copy on both PCs.

The beta runs only on Windows XP.