Bev - I've done lots of research on meringues over the years. One of the tips that I learned is to take our (US version) superfine sugar and put it into the food processor to make it just a bit more fine. The real trick, I've learned from a professional baker, is to fold in the last bit of sugar by hand. For some reason that is beyond me, it makes the meringue much more tender. He also said to do this with a metal spatula.

I recall once attempting meringue with powdered sugar and I was not happy with the results. It's been a good long while ago, and I'm not sure what I didn't like about it, but I remember that I didn't like it. I think it may have been the volume. Seems to me I couldn't get it to as high a volume as I liked and the texture was off.