ICQ was established in July 1996 by four young avid-computer users who wanted to introduce a new way of communication over the Internet.

Before ICQ, people were connected to the internet, but not interconnected. ICQ was the missing link, a technology that made peer-to-peer communication possible. The following year ICQ took the internet by storm. Through viral marketing a chain reaction was created, resulting in one of the largest download rates for a start-up company in the history of the Internet.

ICQ has always been technologically innovative. Not only was ICQ one of the first Internet wide instant messaging services, many features that make up the core of today’s IM services were first introduced by ICQ and appeared on its desktop client.

Today, Video, VoIP, and SMS features are seamlessly integrated within the client. Skins, emoticons, avatars and other personalization tools make ICQ the natural choice for millions of young users around the world.

ICQ is a personal communication tool that allows users to meet and interact, to catch up with old friends, to meet new friends and to hear the latest stories from the world wide community. ICQ is the one-stop-source for all types of communication, the tribe campfire of the virtual community where users meet to share feelings, experiences and content.

source: The ICQ Story