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Facebook Chat Now Available to All Instant Messenger Clients

The more than two billion chat messages sent on Facebook every day can be sent from your favorite desktop instant messaging client.

"We believe you should be able to connect with your Facebook friends everywhere," Facebook engineer David Reiss wrote on the Facebook network's blog.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) was the first major IM platform to work with Facebook Chat. The service also works with multiplatform IM clients Adium, Pidgin and iChat. Facebook didn't say if any other major instant-messaging companies had signed on yet to integrate Facebook Chat.

When AIM users log in to their buddy lists, they will now see a Facebook Connect button. After clicking that button, they can link both accounts and chat with Facebook friends from AIM's interface without visiting Facebook.com.

Simply connect your Facebook account with the instant messaging client of your choice and start chatting. You will not need to stay logged in to Facebook.com to continue to access your Facebook friends.

To get started chatting, visit the Facebook Chat section of the site tour for instructions on how to connect and for examples of instant messaging clients you can connect with.