Greetings Mark,

Yes and No.

Windows Messenger is considered a defunct product so it probably wouldn't be that great to
standardize on now. The two options available for local use are Exchange IM and/or a
SIP-based Communications Service. Exchange IM services is long gone, so now if you want to do
this (from a Microsoft only solution anyway), you'll need an Office Communications Server and
Office Communicator for the clients. Naturally as an enterprise server product, this isn't
free but can be quite slick.

That all said, since Windows Messenger supports SIP-based IM too, using third party software,
you can also setup a local SIP server that will work with Windows Messenger. For instance
OfficeSIP (http://www.officesip.com/sip-server.html) may be an option for you. One major
advantage to doing this way is that you're not specifically limited to Windows Messenger
(which only works on XP), as you can use other SIP clients on any Windows version or
operating system.

One small note: Office Communications Server is SIP-based as well.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2009 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--


"MarkC" wrote in message
...
Can Windows Messenger be installed on a closed network that does not have
access to the internet? If so, how is it done?