Microsoft is investigating customer complaints that both MSN Messenger and Hotmail have been intermittently inaccessible since Friday morning, a representative said. Hotmail users complained to CNET News.com that the service could not be accessed several times during the day on Friday. Microsoft"s instant-messaging application, MSN Messenger, also had connectivity problems. "This morning, MSN customers began experiencing issues accessing various services, such as Messenger (and) Hotmail," a Microsoft representative said. "Microsoft is currently determining the cause and is taking appropriate steps to remedy the situation as quickly as possible."
The Hotmail Web site and other Passport-powered sites could only be successfully accessed 50 percent of the time, according to Internet performance measurement service Keynote Systems. Usually, the sites can be accessed 100 percent of the time.