Facebook Users Join the IM Crowd

Facebook Users Join the IM Crowd

Facebook users frustrated by having to switch between internet chat clients to keep in touch with contacts from other IT services could be set for an upgrade, according to an instant messaging expert.
The upgrade relies on a key component of Facebook's connection interface to the XMPP protocol, which is an open, XML-based standard that drives several instant messaging clients, including Jabber, Google Talk and Apple's iChat.

According to Mickael Remond, CEO of instant messaging company ProcessOne, a long-awaited software element that should enable Facebook users to link to rival services is finally ready for rollout.