appear as offline when signing in (msn messenger)

[messenger]

I previously had some dodgy version of msn which i cant remember now..
So i upgraded to 7.5, and now I can't find that function anymore.
I tried going back o 6.2...(and it worked) but I still can't find the function..
can someone either tell me which version to download (incase they've removed the function) or simply how to activate it..
thanks a lot in advance

[the gaffer]

hi mate,when you are signed out of messenger double click the icon in the system tray which opens the main box and there it is ,it allows you to set your sign in status to whatever you want,its towards the top left of the screen.