Google Talk in distance education

I have used instant messaging in teaching online. The learning platform for the class is elearning. I thought that this was a disadvantage at first, not having the chat board that is available on WebCT. I later found that the instant messaging has some real advantages. The students do not have to be at a computer with the Java necesssary for Vista. There is also the advantage of messages being taken when you are away from the computer. In looking at the Google Talk I found that they also have a feature for conferencing.