• USA Today , Wednesday, February 22, 2006 10:30 AM

AOL is undergoing some major changes, readying a host of new products to help it keep pace with Internet leaders Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. In an interview with USA Today, Jonathan Miller, the Time Warner Company's chief executive, outlined AOL's strategy, beginning with a big push in video. This week, he said, the company begins integrating video search from Truveo, which AOL bought late last year. As part of its In2TV service, AOL will be offering 14,000 free, Warner Bros.-owned classic TV shows on its site. AOL is also in the process of updating its industry-leading instant messaging service, AIM. The company will be offering its 43 million AIM users the chance to create a personal Web page in the same vein as MySpace and MSN Spaces. For instance, clicking on a buddy's name would call up his personal Web page. Miller said the new AIM will also be a "full voice platform," offering voice over Internet calls. In short, AOL is trying to turn AIM into an entertainment/communication hub--something it has talked about doing for a long time, and something analysts agree that it must attempt to do to compete with the likes of Yahoo and MySpace.

 

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