To tell you the truth, when I hear the word “October” I think of one thing and one thing alone – Oktoberfest, “one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year” according to Wikipedia. I immediately imagine huge pints of beer and bosomy German beer maids serving them.

From now on when I hear the word “October” I will think of something else: the fight against breast cancer. It turns out that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Yahoo! is joining in the fight against breast cancer. As Yahoo! explained, it is “turning pink” and would like all of you to turn pink as well.

You can “turn pink” by updating your pink ribbon status in Yahoo! Shine and Yahoo! Pulse. How will this help the fight against breast cancer? For every user who turns pink, Yahoo! will donate $1 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

“Yahoo! has teamed up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to provide free mammograms for uninsured women. For each person who updates his/her pink ribbon status in Yahoo! Shine and Yahoo! Pulse during the month of October, Yahoo! will donate $1 to NBCF up to $50,000. Once you’ve updated your status, head over to Yahoo! Shine to see why others are turning pink and how others are connected to breast cancer in similar ways,” announced on behalf of the Yahoo! Messenger team, Sherrine Tan.

There is one other way to show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month – dress your avatar with the Breast Cancer Awareness Gear, which is basically a pink ribbon that symbolizes support for finding a cure for breast cancer.

So what are you waiting for? Dress up your avatar and “turn pink” in Yahoo! Shine and Yahoo! Pulse.