With a large number of instant messaging services available - MSN, AIM, Yahoo! etc - it is likely that you have a number of IM accounts. This can mean having several instant messaging clients installed, but Trillian can be used to access all of your contacts from one handy interface.

The previous (v5) version of the program not only features a new look, but also a raft of new features. As Trillian can be installed on more than one computer and is available for numerous different platforms, the new synchronised chat history enables you to read through your message logs on any computer with the software installed.

Social networking support is also available in Trillian so you can keep up to date with Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, Foursquare and LinkedIn. As Windows 7 features built-in support for GPS, Foursquare users can take advantage of location aware features.

With support for AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo!, Google, Facebook Chat, Jabber, Skype and more, Trillian is one of the most comprehensive instant messaging tools available. The streamlined interface and associated performance gains make the program a joy to use and the use of skins and plugins means that Trillian is hugely customisable.