GoogleTalk... Watch Out Skype?

Another service I saw about a month ago but couldn't blog about. Google's IM/VoIP client seems like any other and I disagree with some of those that say there isn't room for another IM service. Wanna bet? It's not about challenging the incumbents, but about keeping people within the Google universe. Like I wrote back in March, I was just waiting for Google to create the universal login that ties all their services together and keeps people in the world of Google. Looks like it's going to happen. Is that the Death Star theme or the Mary Poppins chimney song? Silicon Beat has more:

It's official: Google has launched a Google instant messenger/chat service, called Google Talk.

Yes, Google shared the news with us a couple of days ago. Alas, they required us to hold to an embargo of this evening, 9pm, as a condition of being included. So we've faithfully sat on this all day, even as many other folks have reported on elements of it.

So here's the fully story, to run in the Mercury News tomorrow....

Google already offers everything from e-mail to social networking. Now the popular Mountain View search engine company is jumping in with another popular form of communication: Google Talk, where you can instant message and chat with your friends directly from your computer to theirs.

Google also may unleash a voice service that lets you call fixed-line phones too, the company said. It's Google's latest effort to expand beyond simple search into a wide array of communication services. It is also taking on competitors Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft's MSN, which already offer instant messaging and chat and are also trying to upgrade their voice communications -- though it has been slow-going. (full post)