The beta version of Nokia Chat for Windows Phones, which is powered by Yahoo! and was first made available at the end of April, is now available in more markets. The service, which is also available on Nokia's Asha, Series 40, and Symbian devices, allows users to reach out to each other for individual conversations, share their locations, and broadcast messages to their circles of friends. The Lumia client also offers push notifications and live tile updates for Windows Phone users.

You may be wondering why Nokia is releasing its own chat service. After all, there are plenty of alternatives available, and it can not really be considered a core area for the company. Part of the explanation may lie in meeting agreements with Yahoo after the transfer of Nokia service users, but more importantly Nokia wants to provide a smooth transitions to consumers who already use the service and are upgrading to a Lumia device from another Nokia product.

This has become a more important requirement recently as the introduction of lower cost Windows Phone devices (e.g. Nokia Lumia 520) has led to stronger sales of Lumia devices in markets where Nokia Chat is already popular (e.g. India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Mexico). This is also reflected in the list of countries that Nokia is supporting in the beta release of Nokia Chat for Windows Phone.

The newly available markets are:

Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Finland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Spain, and Venezuela

Complementing the already available markets:

Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, and Nigeria. 

Windows Phone Store description;

Stay in touch with your friends, family, and millions of others who use Nokia Chat and Yahoo! Messenger. It's simple, and works using Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Nokia Chat Beta is a free download from the Windows Phone Store. It is only available for both Windows Phone 8.