In its latest attempt to take over everything Internet, Google has launched an instant messaging (IM) and VoIP (voice over IP) service.

The interface is incredibly simple and really easy to use. You also get an address book and the option of either a text or voice conversation. Voice quality is about average for a VoIP service - calls are pretty clear although not quite as good as the line quality using a BT landline.

The latest version of Google Talk enables you to add file transfer, so you can transfer files between your friends and even other IM clients (that support Google Talk). Also supported is VoiceMail - kind of an automatic voice answer service which works if you don't answer your Google Talk 'phone'.

In order to use Google Talk, you’ll need a Google account.