GoogleTalk Gadget Added to Personal Pages

Google just announced integration of their instant messaging service, Google Talk, with Google IG, their personalized home page. The flash-based widget plugs into your Google Personal Home Page as an integrated buddy list and IM window. The new widget can be added to your page here.

Google IG is still only 1/7th or so the size of Yahoo’s competing product according to worldwide Comscore numbers. But Google’s integration with it’s own widget platform puts it ahead of the personal page giant Yahoo, which hasn’t integrated with it’s own konfabulator widget platform. Yahoo widgets have also been tough for others to wrangle. Netvibes’ Universal Widget API won’t include the platform in its first iteration.

The widget isn’t just a copy of the Gmail version, it also has some of its own cool new features. Compared to popup message windows in the Gmail version, the widget’s conversations open up tabs instead. The new widget will also will also intelligently parse Picassa and YouTube links, displaying the content embedded right in the conversation.

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