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From Google

In February 2006, we integrated real-time chat into the Gmail^TM email service. Our goal was to let users switch between email and instant messaging without having to think about which they were using — we even kept a history of chats and emails together in conversation threads so you could view and search both without worrying about whether your conversation happened as an email or a chat session.
But we know many of our users also have friends who use other chat services such as AIM.

 

So today we’re rolling out a new feature to make it even more convenient and useful to chat from Gmail: you can now chat with all your AIM buddies right inside Gmail. Just click on the upside-down triangle next to “set status here” in your Gmail chat and select “Sign into AIM” from the drop down menu. Once you’ve entered your AIM log-in information, your AIM contacts will appear intermingled among your Gmail contacts, and you can select an AIM contact and chat with them directly.
This is just one of the first new features we’re able to launch using Gmail’s new code structure. This is rolling out in the newest English version of Gmail first and will be available in other languages soon. We’re always looking for new and useful ways to help our users connect with friends, family, and coworkers, and we look forward to your feedback.
For more information or to start chatting, just log in to Gmail at www.gmail.com.

Just login to your Gmail account, select options under the chat box, and then log into your AIM account. All your friends from AIM will be automatically imported into your messenger contacts. No word yet on if this will be carried over to your talk desktop and mobile applications.

Source: Google press release

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