--- a/browser_side/panels.py	Wed Mar 05 21:42:03 2014 +0100
+++ b/browser_side/panels.py	Thu Mar 06 01:06:19 2014 +0100
@@ -291,7 +291,7 @@
         self._popup = None
         self._timer = Timer(notify=self._timeCb)
 
-    def showWarning(self, type_=None, msg=None):
+    def showWarning(self, type_=None, msg=None, duration=2000):
         """Display a popup information message, e.g. to notify the recipient of a message being composed.
         If type_ is None, a popup being currently displayed will be hidden.
         @type_: a type determining the CSS style to be applied (see __showWarning)
@@ -306,7 +306,7 @@
             self._timeCb(None)  # we remove the popup
             self.__showWarning(type_, msg)
 
-        self._timer.schedule(2000)
+        self._timer.schedule(duration)
 
     def __showWarning(self, type_, msg):
         """Display a popup information message, e.g. to notify the recipient of a message being composed.
@@ -324,7 +324,6 @@
         elif type_ == "GROUP":
             style = "targetGroup"
         elif type_ == "STATUS":
-            msg = "This will be your new status message"
             style = "targetStatus"
         elif type_ == "ONE2ONE":
             style = "targetOne2One"