Free Chat Programs and Chat Services

• Chatterbox - This new site offers a roundup of 11 free Java chat networks. You may either chat here, or, if you have a Web site of your own, you may place one of these chat networks on your page.
  


• ScreenFire - This amazing free program lets you instantly send messages to another user's desktop. ScreenFire lets you communicate with anyone worldwide in real time and can save you time by eliminating unnecessary E-mails and phone calls.
  


• Microsoft NetMeeting - With this cool program, you can hold "virtual meetings." NetMeeting offers various tools to communicate and collaborate with others on the Web. It lets you hold voice and video conferences, share software applications, chat, and share a whiteboard.
  


• ICQ chat program - An incredible chat program from Israel that ranks as one of the Web's coolest freeware programs. ICQ's features could fill a book: it allows you to transfer files; travel in groups to different Web pages; play sound effects and much more. The program is very easy to use and has a very attractive and useful interface that allows you to keep track of several simultaneous conversations.



• Active Worlds Browser -This is one of the all-around coolest freebies on the Web. It's a browser that lets you access AlphaWorld, a unique, 3D virtual community populated by real people. The Active Worlds universe boasts hundreds of thousands of users and thousands of kilometers of virtual territory. You can explore over 100 worlds in real-time, 3D, high-color graphics. You can even "own" land and build anything you'd like on your property, from a simple house to an elaborate palace (a process that is quite easy). Active Worlds is more than a piece of software; it's a way of life! (Note: you need a Pentium with Win 95/NT and 24 megs of hard drive space.)



• AOL Instant Messenger - This excellent program, once available only to AOL users, is now available to the entire online community. It offers many cool features. It allows you to see who's currently online and lets you send quick and private instant messages. It's "faster than E-mail and more fun than the phone."
  


• The Undernet - One of the largest chat networks on the Internet. 100% free.