Greetings Zack,

No they are not the same.

There are several differences between the two. Most notably, MSN Messenger 6 has support for
display pictures, custom emoticons, has a different interface, etc. whereas Windows Messenger
supports SIP-based communications services, Exchange IM Server, etc.  Which one you use is up
to you, and a matter of personal choice (and based upon your needs and likes), however one
thing to keep in mind, Windows Messenger must still be installed on
Windows XP in order for MSN Messenger to retain full functionality (Remote Assistance,
Whiteboard, Application Sharing, etc.).

MSN Messenger is centered around MSN technologies (Hotmail, MSN Member Profiles, MSN Mobile,
etc.) whereas Windows Messenger is centered around Windows technologies (Exchange Server,
Office Live Communications Server, Windows Netmeeting, etc.).

Both clients however can make use of Microsoft technologies, like the .NET Messenger service,
.NET Passport and .NET Alerts.
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Messenger/MSN Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com

Zack,

This exact question was addressed 6 days ago in a thread entitled "MSN
Messenger vs Windows Messenger posted by Tom Cholipski.  You might want to
check it out. The answer is the same but you might find it interesting.  I
use the MSN version because I use the Video/Audio features and I had trouble
with the Windows version.  But, I guess you need that Windows Messaging
running for other reasons.

I guess it also points out that its not a bad idea to do an
Edit/Find/Message before posting.  <g>

Tom