Facebook Messenger for Windows Desktop to shut down from 3 March

Facebook Messenger for Windows Desktop will shut down from Monday, 3 March.

According to a report in The Next Web, Facebook's move comes only days following Microsoft's announcement that the official Facebook Messenger app would be on Windows Phone 8 devices within weeks.

The report said, Facebook's Messenger app started showing a link saying that it would shut down from 3 March.

''We're sorry, but we can no longer support Facebook Messenger for Windows, and it will stop working on March 3, 2014. We really appreciate you using Messenger to reach your friends, and we want to make sure you know that you can keep chatting and view all your messages on http://www.facebook.com,'' the message stated.

The website said a Facebook spokesperson also confirmed the development to the it.

Facebook Messenger for Windows was released in March 2012, with an OS X version expected to be launched but given that the Windows version had shut down, it seemed unlikely.

Facebook would likely concentrate on Messenger for Windows Phone devices, and other mobile devices, rather than desktops, the report said.

According to another report on The Next Web, Facebook Messenger for Firefox was also shutting down on 3 March.

According to PC World, Facebook Messenger debuted on Windows around two years ago and had a user base of about a million.

Although, the social networking giant had announced it was pulling the plug on Messenger for Windows, the company had maintained that it would continue to work on the app for Windows Phone.

Meanwhile, The Verge reported that Microsoft is currently experimenting with a free version of Windows 8.1 that would see the number of people using the operating system increase considerably.

According to sources familiar with Microsoft's plans who spoke to The Verge, the company was building Windows 8.1 with Bing, a version that would bundle key Microsoft apps and services.

While early versions of the software had leaked online, The Verge said Windows 8.1 with Bing was an experimental project that aimed to bring a low-cost version of Windows to consumers.