WHAT IS GOOGLE TALK?

Google Talk (GTalk) is a free Windows and web-based application for instant messaging and voice over internet protocol (VOIP), offered by Google Inc. The first beta version of the program was released on August 24, 2005.

Instant messaging between the Google Talk servers and its clients uses an open protocol, XMPP, allowing users of other XMPP clients to communicate with Google Talk users. VoIP in Google Talk is based around the Jingle protocol. The technology used within the Google server network however is not publicly known.

• Instant messaging — Chat with all of your Google Talk and Gmail contacts in real time.
• Free PC-to-PC voice chat — You can talk to anyone else for free who's online and has the Google Talk client.
• Send and receive voicemails— If the person you're calling isn't available, you can leave a voicemail.
• Unlimited file transfers — Send files to your contacts. There are no file size or bandwidth restrictions.
• Gmail notifications on your desktop — When you're signed into Google Talk, you'll be notified of new messages in your Gmail inbox.