My new role has a pretty locked down IT policy so I can't use a Messenger application like Adium to keep in touch with contacts on various different IM networks.
So in my search to find a web equivalent I came across Goowy which provides a 'desktop' on the web. It has a messaging client that can handle AOL, ICQ, MSN/.net/Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger.
The email client will consolidate POP3 accounts but doesn't handle IMAP, at least not yet. Whilst there are alternatives like Meebo, Goowy provides the slickest service and best user experience (click on the picture to have a better look at the screen shot).
Ok, now for the big question, how will these people make money? Could they be the meta portal that Marc Canter has been saying that web 2.0 services need, which would be financed via contextual advertising a la Google and Yahoo!?