WASHINGTON -- Teenager Michelle Rome can't imagine life without instant messaging. Baby boomer Steve Wilson doesn't care that it even exists. They're part of an "instant messaging gap" between teens ...

FOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) -- An instant message exchange might seem as fleeting as a phone call or face-to-face chat. But, like everything else on the Net, it can have much more staying power than ...

It's free, fast, and easy. It will lower your phone bills, help you finish your homework and even, for some Palo Alto teens, track your stocks. "Instant messenger" (or IM) computer programs have ...

When Tom, an employee at a Buffalo non-profit agency, wants to find out what his college-age kids are up to, he activates his AOL instant messaging service and carries on a real-time conversation ...