A good instant messenger?

My friend has Gmail and I have Yahoo! an we really want to instant message. The obvious solution would be she should get a Yahoo! mail or vise versa, but that little plan isn't going well. She says she won't get a Yahoo! and I should get a Gmail but I think the opposite. So we've decided to get a whole different type of messenger. We decided on AIM but for some whacked reason it won't let us chat! So I'm wondering, do you have any good experience with other messengers? It can be Gmail, Yahoo!, or AIM or any other messenger. If you say Yahoo!, convince my friend here that she should get Yahoo! or if you say Gmail, convince me to get a Gmail, etc. I doubt this is possible but if the messenger is JUST the messenger, and you don't have to get the email, that would be great! Thank you so much!
Answer:

You can both keep your emails - if you register a Windows Live ID you can use Windows Live Messenger (formerly MSN Messenger). You don't have to get a new email, but verify it as a WL ID, and then you can sign in to any of the Live services with that account (like messenger).

Lilliput... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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