Gmail Chat adds AIM integration

It's been nearly two years since Google acquired a 5% stake in AOL. The promise then was that Google Talk would allow connectivity to the AIM network. Well, two years later that promised AIM integration is finally here. It is not in Google Talk, but in the web-based sibling, Gmail Chat.

Beta testing of the AIM integration began last month, and now they are officially rolling it out for the English-language Gmail interface.

This isn't true integration. You won't be able to use your Google account to chat with your AIM buddies. Instead, this works similar to Meebo. You must have an AIM account (available for free). You can sign-on to your AIM account by clicking the new Options link at the bottom of your Gmail chat list.

You supply your AIM username and password in a pop-up window, and when you're connected, your AIM contacts will now appear in your chat list, designated by the familiar AIM running man logo.



Once you've signed in, Gmail Chat will remember your AIM account information. Next time you sign in to Gmail, you'll automatically be reconnected to AIM.

Of course, Yahoo Messenger and WLM Messenger offer true interoperability, and have done so for the past 18 months. But with the popularity of Meebo and programs like Trillian and Adium, do the battle lines still matter?