Some Spam Messages Find "Instant' Channel; Unsolicited pitches gain via instant messaging; Yahoo, others fight spim.(INTERNET & TECHNOLOGY)

Byline: PETE BARLAS

Spam today, spim tomorrow?

Unsolicited messages, called spam, now account for about half of all e-mails received in the U.S. Spam pitches everything from pornography to prescription drugs to college diplomas.

Almost all of these unwanted messages came via normal e-mail. No more. Some analysts say instant messaging is becoming the channel of choice for spam, or what in IM's case they call spim.

Instant messaging providers such as Yahoo and Microsoft are taking steps to protect their users from spim. And software makers are starting to offer products to block spim, a potentially lucrative new security niche.

Instant messaging -- basically real-time e-mailing back and forth -- is on the rise. And where consumers go, junk mailers are sure to follow, says Robert Mahowald, an analyst with International Data Corp.

"Spammers go where the money is," he said. "As more people start using instant messaging, they'll shift toward instant messaging."