Patent ID: 7970846

Claim:
A method processed by a computing device at a user location, the method comprising: receiving user input, the user input comprising multiple instant messaging (IM) addresses of an individual contact of a user, the multiple IM addresses comprising IM addresses from different IM accounts, each IM account of the different IM accounts being transmitted and receive IM messages using a different IM protocol; receiving a reference identifier (ID), the reference identifier (ID) being an alphanumeric code and being used to identify the individual contact, wherein the reference identifier (ID) is distinct from received instant messaging (IM) address and the email address; correlating each IM address of the multiple IM addresses to the reference identifier (ID); providing an email receive window configured to display a received email, the email receive window configured to provide IM presence information associated with the IM address of the contact of the user, the email receive window configured to utilize the reference identifier (ID) for automatically launching an IM session with the individual contact from the email receive window, the email receive window including a launch IM option for launching the IM session; permitting the user to initiate the IM session with contacts at various IM addresses without manually logging into multiple IM accounts, allowing the user to type an IM message at a user input window; and wherein the typed IM message is translated or reformatted into a native protocol associated with each participant of other participants' IM services and the typed IM message is displayed to each participant of the other participants in IM chat session; wherein a first participant having a first instant messaging account engages a second participant having a second instant messaging account that is different from the first instant messaging account in the IM chat session though the user input window by sending the typed instant messaging message to the user from the first participant, reformatting the typed instant messaging message for the second participant, and conveying the typed instant messaging message which has been reformatted to the second participant, wherein user information identifying a sender of the typed instant messaging message is substituted with first participants information in the typed instant messaging message identifying the first participant as the sender; and attempting to establish the IM chat session directly from the input window, wherein if a first IM address is not responsive, attempting a second IM address in prioritized order of the plurality of multiple instant messaging addresses.