Originally Posted by wikimedia

Google just came out with Google Talk today, August 24, 2005. It features instant messaging and Voice over IP over the Jabber protocol (built off of XMPP). Google Talk is only in beta form - however, Gmail has also been in beta form for over a year. Google Talk requires a Gmail account which, as of this writing, is invite only. (You can get a Gmail account at ByteTest.com or the Gmail Invite wiki.) Google Talk is only available for Windows XP/2000 (as of now), however you can use other IM clients such as Gaim on Mac and GNU/Linux platforms. An interesting easter egg is the ability to play "Hunt the Wumpus" if you add "wumpus.game@gmail.com" to your contacts and send the message the word "play" it the account. More information about Google Talk can be found on the Wikipedia:Google Talk page

Originally Posted by wikimedia

Internet search king Google is preparing to provide free VoIP service — a technology that that makes it possible to have a telephone conversation over the internet. Existing technology will be marketed in the Google name, something which may make all the difference.

Sources suggest that Google may firstly introduce its telephony service to users in the United Kingdom, but the actual date when the service will launch and the exact details of the plan are as yet unknown.

Google is a California-based search engine whose mission "is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". The largest search engine on the web, Google receives over 200 million queries each day through its various services.