Messenger for Mac 7, the official Windows Live Messenger client for Macs, has finally been released.

The main improvement is the much-awaited introduction of audio and video chats, although if you're a non-business user of Messenger for Mac you will probably be disappointed. The A/V features require your network to be running Office Communications Server, but chats can be made to people on other networks using OCS and even to Windows users running Office Communicator. Business users also get updates to make Messenger for Mac more like Office Communicator, for example more presence information.

Regular users of Messenger for Mac, who use their Windows Live IDs to sign in, will see no sign of these new features. Instead, the main thing they have to look forward to in the new version is being able to give contacts nicknames and to search through contacts in a way similar to the 'word-wheel' in Windows Live Messenger for PCs. Another new addition is integration of the Mac OS X Bonjour technology.

The audio and video features for non-corporate users seem no closer either:
>> Download Messenger for Mac 7 (official source)
>> Find out more about Messenger for Mac

>> Release announcement at the Office for Mac team blog
>> Find out more about the new A/V features (and the lack of them)

>> Get help for the new version
>> Information about corporate use and deployment