Starting a chat

You can chat with anyone who has a colored ball icon next to his or her name. When someone is online, a green, yellow, or red colored ball will appear. Here's how to chat with someone who's available:
From Chat in Gmail and iGoogle and Online friends in orkut:

1. Find the name of the person you'd like to chat with.
2. Click the person's name to open a chat window.
3. Enter your message in the text field, and press Enter.
4. Wait for your contact to respond!

You can also search for a contact by entering his or her name in the box at the top of your roster. Just enter the name of the person you'd like to chat with, and then enter your message in the chat window. You can also chat with friends in orkut directly from their profile by clicking the colored ball under their profile picture.
If a contact doesn't have a ball next to his or her name, you won't be able to chat. Learn how to send your friend an invitation to chat.
From the Contact Manager in Gmail:

1. Click Contacts along the left side of any Gmail page.
2. Select the name of the person you'd like to chat with, and click the Chat link to open a chat window.
3. Enter your message in the text field, and press Enter.
4. Wait for your contact to respond!

When you've finished chatting, click the X in the top right corner to close the window.