AIM is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family, coworkers and colleagues. It lets you have a live, real-time conversation as you type.



After you've taken a test drive, here's how to get started with IM:

Your AIM Buddy List should appear automatically when you sign in to the AOL software. If it doesn't, go to the "Community" menu at the top of the screen and choose "AIM."

Anyone you've previously exchanged email with will already appear on the list, and you can add any others you want.

To send an IM, select a screen name in your Buddy List and click the "Send IM" button at the bottom. (For a shortcut, you can open up an IM window any time by hitting Control+I or using AOL Keyword: IM.) Once you start typing, click "Send" and wait for your buddy to reply. You'll even see when your friend is typing a response!