Microsoft has already announced that it plans to discontinue Windows Live Messengerin early 2013. Today, the company officially confirmed that it will retire the service on March 15th.
Microsoft has begun emailing Windows Live Messenger users about the upcoming change, adding that China will be the only country where the service will continue to operate.
"On March 15, 2013, the existing Messenger service will be discontinued globally (except for mainland China, where live Messenger will continue to be available)," the email states.
The message then goes on to list some of the benefits of using Skype, while also reiterating that after March 15, users will not be able to log in without Skype. The email ultimately directs recipients to the official Skype download page.
