Google Talk is the instant messaging client provided by Google that was released as a simple chat application and now it's meant to become a true VoIP client, as the employees said. The program is based on an XMPP protocol, similar to Jabber servers, and it's available for free with a Google account. According to Googlefied, Google Talk had 3.4 million unique users in July 2006 compared to AIM's 34 million, so the difference between the popularity of the two solutions is quite impressive.

Google Talk is a simple chat client and I must say that I really enjoy it. If you are looking for a simple solution to chat without emoticons, sound and other features, Google Talk is the one. Some time ago, I presented you an interesting Firefox extension that can add some nice emoticons to your chat client so the application is a little configurable. As you probably know, Google Talk is also accessible from your Gmail interface, using a simple HTML interface that allows you to communicate directly from your browser.

It's obvious that the popularity of Google Talk is very low, but it seems like this fact is going to be changed soon. One year ago, many users were talking about a possible Google Talk - AIM alliance that was meant to create a powerful compatibility between the two solutions. Now, after about a year, the rumors appeared again and were confirmed by Justin Uberti, an ex-AIM employee and currently Googler.

"On the Google side, I can simply refer to our official statement, and our stock answer, "We are working actively on integrating AIM access in Google Talk." And as for a version of AIM that talks to Google users? There has been no comment whatsoever from AOL regarding such a client, so I guess we'll have to wait and see how important this is to AOL's new management team. However, AOL also appears to be working on an XMPP gateway for AIM, which would allow XMPP/Jabber clients to access the AIM network using AIM screen names. Based on the public information, it seems that this should be available in the near future," he said.