Facebook chat could connect to Gtalk and iChat

Fri Nov 6 2009, 17:07 PM UTC

Facebook chat could soon be compatible with a range of third-party clients, meaning people could talk to their Facebook friends from within messaging systems such as Google’s Gtalk or Apple’s iChat. Instant messaging specialist ProcessOne reports that the social network is updating its messaging system so it will work with XMPP, the open standard used by a range of chat clients. 

Making Facebook chat compatible with this new range of clients is likely to significantly increase its use. It would also help Facebook get around the limitations of its messaging system, which is often criticised for having a clunky interface. Users would be able to update and check statuses and view their friends profile pictures, as well as chatting to their friends.

Facebook tells StrategyEye it has “nothing to share at this time” about extending chat to a wider range of clients. However, the network said over a year ago that it intended to allow members to “use Jabber/XMPP-based chat applications to connect to Facebook chat”.

Facebook chat is already accessible via messaging services such as Meebo and Fring, but extending it to XMPP-based clients would considerably broaden its reach outside the Facebook site. XMPP was developed in the 1990s by the Jabber open source community, which it was originally named after. It has since evolved from merely an instant messaging protocol to become a standard for voice-over-IP (VoIP) and other online communication.

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