ICQ is an instant messaging computer program, which was first eveloped by the Israeli company Mirabilis, now owned by Time Warner's AOL subsidiary. The first version of the program was released in November 1996 and ICQ became the first Internet-wide instant messaging service. The name ICQ is an initialism on the phrase "I seek you". America Online (AOL) acquired Mirabilis on June 8, 1998 for $407 million. Today ICQ is used by over 29 million users worldwide.