Google has launched Gmail Chat, allowing users to instant-message with a click from their email accounts, see when contacts are online and save their chat history as they would an email message, reports CNET. Users can also keep chats "off the record" by clicking on that option. The chat application's Quick Contacts list is synchronized with a user's Google Talk friends list and displays those with whom a user communicates most frequently. Clicking on an online contact opens a chat window.

The chat functions of Google Talk are integrated into Gmail, but users must download the Google Talk client to make voice calls. Gmail Chat is, for now, available in the U.S. English interface only and for Internet Explorer (6.0 and later) and Firefox (1.0 and later).