Google eyes to IM

Google acquires Meetro, i guess thy`ll come soon with a messenger

People have been talking about Google releasing their own IM software since, I think, the beginning of time, but internetnews.com is reporting that it's got to be what they're up to now.

You see, this week Google is expected to announce its acquisition of Meetroduction, the company which makes Meetro, which is some sort of IM client that supports multiple protocols (e.g. AIM, Jabber, ICQ) and uses wi-fi mojo to find new buddies for you based on your physical location.

I can't help but wonder if something more is going on here, though. If Google just wanted an IM client, why wouldn't they have just started with Jabber of even Gaim? Meetro seems like an odd purchase, unless they've got something special in mind for that wi-fi mojo, and I sincerely hope they do. If anybody can make an IM client with a difference and actually get people to use it, it's Google