ICQ users top 50 million

America Online Inc. (NYSE: AOL) said today that its ICQ instant messaging service has signed up more than 50 million users. The service's subscriber base has quadrupled since AOL bought the company in June 1998. More than two-thirds of those users are based outside the United States. ICQ also said that it has signed $100 million worth of e-commerce and marketing agreements. -- Margaret Kane, ZDNet News