 During this time, he led the design team that integrated an Internet browser directly in AOL's proprietary user interface (version 5.0) making it possible for millions of computer users to access the Internet through a Web-based portal.He also advocated the opening up of AOL's proprietary message service known as IM, a key development that allowed its subscriber base to "chat" electronically over the Internet with non-AOL computer users free of charge.By January 2001, the same month that AOL announced its merger with Time-Warner, the company's 26 million subscribers were sending an estimated 660 million instant messages daily.