On Msn What Does It Mean When The Persons Picture Flashes Picture Of Those Contact On MSN In "offline" Status?

Picture of those contact on MSN in "offline" status? - on msn what does it mean when the persons picture flashes

If I have a picture of my contacts from MSN, who see the "offline status is to be done", it means that person who is actually logged on to MSN, but only "sample" as offline? In other words, if people are not on MSN, MSN and saved the image, has no way seen by others, is not it?