Instant messaging is the ability to easily see whether a chosen friend or co-worker is on-line and, if they are, to exchange messages with them. The immediacy of the message exchange distinguishes it from e-mail and also makes a continued exchange simpler than sending e-mail messages back and forth. Most exchanges are text-only, although some services allow attachments.
Reuters reports that VeriSign will issue security services to companies for authenticating employees who want to send and receive encrypted messages using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).
Reuters is itself developing an instant messaging service in partnership with 25 financial institutions and Microsoft, according to a report by Computer Weekly. The magazine also reports that investment bank ABN Amro has begun using instant messaging to reduce its reliance on e-mail and to allow faster sharing of news, information and documents.