[Jeff]

Nielsen/Netratings didn't publish any figures for this year. They tend to run various reports based on who wants the research.

The latest IM-related report Nielsen/Netratings published was back on July 26, 2007 and dealt with the "fastest-growing instant messaging destination" (PDF) site between August 2006 and June 2007.

Here's what they found at the time:

1. Meebo.com - grew 354%
2. IMVU - grew 154%
3. Google Talk - grew 149%
4. Paltalk - grew 26%
5. Skype - grew 20%

Of course, while the grown is significant, none of these sites have anywhere close to the IM market share of AIM, MSN, or Yahoo. And the Big Three have likely also experienced growth.

Keep in mind that stats can also be made to say whatever you want; it all depends on how and what you measure. Always take them with a grain of salt (preferably from the rim of a margarita glass).