Popular Chat Sites    
Chat with friends or meet new people online.

AOL People & Chat - online service.. the leader in live chat, aol membership required.
Chatway.com - mega-site.. variety of chats, message boards, personals, polls and more.
iVillage Chat - women.. live events and chat rooms concerning womens issues.
MSN Chat - mega-site.. live chat, in all popular categories.. w/online radio.
Talk City - mega-site.. active chat community and message boards.
TechTV Chat - tech.. the cable tv network's online live chat.
The Park - mega-site.. live chat community, with discussion boards.
Yahoo! Chat - mega-site.. highly popular chat community.

B. Chat Messengers  
Live chat software that enables users to chat with their buddies.

AOL Messenger - popular.. messenger that interacts with your aol and online buddies.
ICQ - popular.. the most popular chat messenger service.
MSN Messenger - popular.. voice chat, mobile messaging, file transfer, and more.
Odigo Messenger - compilation.. one messenger connects you with aol, icq, and yahoo.
Trillian - compilation.. unifies MSN, AIM, ICQ, IRC in one free program.
Yahoo! Messenger - popular.. messenger for all platforms including unix & handhelds.

C. IRC Chat    
Downloads and web sites that connect you to the old fashioned "internet relay chat" network.

dIRC - shareware.. multiple irc server capability, spell check, and more.
Ircle - shareware.. irc client for the mac.
Klient - freeware.. up-to-date client that connects to multiple servers.
MaxxChat - freeware.. integrates irc with icq, aim, and other messengers.
mIRC - shareware.. popular up-to-date irc client software.
NewIRCUsers.com - guide.. a simple guide for irc newbies.

D. Virtual World Chat    
Use avatars to wander around in an online virtual world interface and chat/wander like it was real.

Active Worlds - 3d worlds.. free small download; virtual chat and shop.
moove - 3d worlds.. build a virtual apartment and share it with others.
Worlds.com - 3d worlds.. free download; fairly active community.

E. Webcam Chat    
Use this software to talk live with friends via your webcam.

CUseeMe World - free.. easy plug-in; video chat in groups.
EarthCam - network.. directory of live camsites on the web; webcam tv and store.
Eyeball Chat - freeware.. free video chat software, chat face-to-face.
ICUII - shareware.. high quality one-on-one video chat.
iVisit - freeware.. chat with multiple people at the same time.
NetMeeting - freeware.. from microsoft; one-on-one video chat software.
PalTalk - freeware.. video conferencing, voice e-mails, messenging, and more.