Microsoft, can you hear me now?

Microsoft says several improvements to its MSN Messenger Internet telephony feature are now available to all users of the tool. The most notable of the changes improve the oft-criticized quality of the voice calls. It's also now possible, Microsoft said, to have voice chats through firewalls, typically a major challenge for voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP.

The improvements, made possible through a partnership Microsoft has with operator Level 3 Communications, were announced by MSN in April as part of the introduction of the latest version of MSN Messenger. Because the improvements use third-party software, there's an expected charge of a few cents a minute.