MANILA - End of an era, as Yahoo Messenger, one of the first instant messaging service, shuts down on July 17.

Yahoo made the announcement on its website, where it said the service can be used normally only until next month.

"After July 17, you'll no longer be able to access your chats and the service will no longer work," the announcement said.

According to Yahoo, it was shutting down Yahoo Messenger to focus on "building and introducing new, exciting communication tools."

"As the communications landscape continues to change over, we're focusing on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs," it said.

There is no replacement yet for Yahoo Messenger, but Yahoo said it was experimenting with new services and apps, including an invite-only group messaging app called Yahoo Squirrel.

Those interested in downloading their Yahoo Messenger chat history can still do so for the next 6 months by going to the downloader request site.

Yahoo also advised its users to delete their Yahoo Messenger app once they have downloaded their chat history.

The shutdown of Yahoo Messenger will not affect one's Yahoo ID as it can still be used for other Yahoo products.

Yahoo Messenger was first released in 1998.