Google Talk is the instant messaging client provided by Google and it is built on an XMPP protocol, similar to the Jabber servers. At the beginning, Google Talk was a simple chat application without many features meant to provide a simple communication way.

Then, Google started to update the solution to make it more powerful and to be able to compete with more popular instant messaging products such as Yahoo Messenger or Windows Live Messenger. Google Talk now features VoIP functions and file transfer, the company planning to develop it to a true VoIP client, as a Google employee said. Yesterday, an ex-AIM employee said that the search giant aims to make the application compatible with AIM messenger, a clear sign that Google Talk has a bright future.

One of the main improvements added to Google Talk was its integration with Gmail, Google's mail service that is currently available by invitation and it offers you one of the largest mail storage sizes. This way, Google Talk became Gmail Chat, a HTML version of the instant messenger client available through Gmail's interface. All you need to do is to login into your mail account and chat, because it is enabled by default. If you cannot see the Gmail Chat, you should go at the bottom of the page and click on the Standard with chat function that will integrate the client into your mail interface.

Gmail Chat is very useful, because it provides you with a simple way for communication with a limited number of features. The service allows you to use emoticons that are presented on the official website of the solution but - similar to Yahoo Messenger - the company didn't mention all of them.

You can find all the emoticons posted by Google here but you can also use the hidden ones that are listed on this link.