COMMUNICATIONS

Chat Around The World
Cyberzine Chat
Direct Chat
iChat

ICQ

If you're an Internet junkie and a hopeless control freak, you're going to love ICQ. No other Internet communication application lets you keep constant tabs on your Web-surfing pals and mastermind all incoming and outgoing electronic communication like this gem. Send your Internet buddies files, URLs, and e-mail, run external programs, and chat the night away. Even better, tell ICQ who you want to keep track of, and it will tell you when they're online. If you want to play a little search and destroy, you can instruct ICQ to sound an alarm when a particular user logs on to the Internet.

InsideTheWeb

InterCh@t
Maui Net
Northgate.net

OnLive! Traveler

This chat environment offers just about the closest thing to a person-to-person rendezvous on the Net. You can choose between several 3D avatars to represent you (and edit them to your liking) but that's nothing new. The real treat here is the ability to hear the various real-life voices of your fellow travelers. No asterisks, no emoticons, and no accidental CAPS LOCK screaming here. Just sarcasm and sassy wit coming through to you straight from the horse's mouth (or the fish's lips, as the case may be). And, of course, there's a whole VRML universe to explore with your new pals, including scenarios like an outer space lounge and a twilight sea cruise. Check out some of the places you can visit at the OnLive! Customer Reference Sites.

Palace, The

If live chat is going to be the next big thing on the Web, then The Palace is going to be mighty big too. Of all the types of live chat you can try online, The Palace provides what may be the most entertaining interface. Though other chats have avatars and backgrounds, The Palace's are more colourful, more active, and more entertaining. This may not be the kind of chat that permeates serious corporate settings, but it's already popping up on plenty of entertainment sites, and here at the home site, you can get a taste of what it's like.

Talk.com

ThatWeb

Uni-Verse

Uni-Verse makes communication on the Internet truly international, with software that translates conversations in real time into any of six languages. You select the language you want to send your message in, and the language you want to read (English, Spanish, German, Italian, or Portuguese). You'll have to write nonidiomatic sentences, but think of the practical applications: password-protected conference rooms for businesses; forums for schools, libraries, and hospitals; and various permanent chat rooms on the site. You'll have to pay for it though, but it's worth it.

WebChat Broadcasting System