IM Lingo hits Mainstream

The San Jose Mercury reports:

Why laugh when you can say ``El oh el'' instead?

For that matter, saying ``Ninety-nine'' at the end of an evening works just as well as ``Nighty-night.'' Need to cheer up a friend? Try whispering, ``Less than three.'' When typed, it makes a sideways heart <3. (Use your imagination.)

The strange slang of instant messaging (IMing for those in the know) has infiltrated the ever-changing dialect known as teen speak. It is one thing that teens' online chit-chat is littered with abbreviations, acronyms, phonetic spellings and other shortcuts on the computer screen. But now many are talking as if they have keyboards permanently attached to their brains.

No word yet on what Andy Rooney will think.