Google Gets Orkut Users Talking

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG – message board) will soon announce that its Google Talk instant messaging and VOIP service will be built into its social networking site Orkut, Google’s version of MySpace.

The company says its Google Talk and Orkut development teams are busy putting the finishing touches on the integration. The announcement will likely be made sometime next week.

The significance? While entire companies have been started just to promote voice over IP (VOIP) applications, Google is increasingly convinced that communications capabilities like those offered by Google Talk are features, not standalone apps.

Blending two services such as instant communications and social networking was a no-brainer. “We noticed that a lot of people that were using Orkut also had their GTalk client open at the same time,” says Google spokeswoman Courtney Hohne.

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