Zoho has announced a major new version of its Zoho Chat, which brings multi-protocol support and thus becomes a competitor to Meebo and other web-based instant messengers which support several IM protocols. Zoho Chat 2.0 brings support for Yahoo!, Google(), MSN, AIM, ICQ, and Jabber-based IM networks, but it’s just one in the long list of improvements in the new version. Other important features include integration accross the entire Zoho office suite, which means you can chat from any Zoho app, comprehensive chat history, sending files directly through chat, calendar integration, which lets you add events from the chat, as well as embedding the chat box in your website or blog.

Zoho Chat also comes with an impressive number of customizable features; you can change background images and other visual features, receive and customize audio notifications for various alerts, customize various view and sort options and so on.

While Zoho Chat is no slouch when it comes to feature and options - actually, it’s probably among the best such applications out there - its biggest strength is its integration with other applications in the Zoho Suite. If you’re a Zoho user, using Zoho Chat is simply a no-brainer. It also brings Zoho another step closer to becoming the ultimate online office suite, even if faced with fierce competition from Google.

http://mashable.com/2009/04/01/zoho-chat-20/