What are MSN Emoticons?

MSN Emoticons are small icons that you can use to quickly express emotions during the course of conversation on Windows Messenger. An emoticon conventionally consists of an expressive, cartoon-like face depicting emotions, for example a yellow smiley happy face. The range of depictable emotions is broad, with most positive, happy emotions using a yellow character, with the exception of the angriest emoticon, which is appropriately bright red. It is possible to convey feelings and actions ranging from happiness, anger, embarrassment and upset through to illness, thought and sarcasm.

As well as being cute, entertaining little icons, emoticons have become an important part of online chat and other types of Internet communication. Whilst the written word is informative, it is often all too easy to misinterpret the meaning of a sentence. This can have unfortunate consequences if, for example, a joke is taken as a sincere comment. By using an emoticon it is possible to convey much more clearly the true meaning of a comment and the tone of its delivery.

In addition to the emotional characters, there are a number of object icons that are included under the definition of an emoticon. These range from a birthday cake complete with candles to a steaming cup of coffee. It's thus possible to offer your conversation partner a cup of virtual coffee, or to add significance to the wishing of a happy birthday.

In addition those supplied as standard with Messenger, there are a number of additional emoticons which can be downloaded from other websites. These are usually freely available, although some require payment.