Outlook adds support for Google Talk in appeal to Gmail users

Microsoft is rolling out Google Talk integration to its online email service Outlook, which is something that could tempt Gmail users try out the less popular competing service.

Microsoft, which owns its own chat service by way of its Skype purchase, is using Google’s public API to include Google Talk integration on Outlook.com. The timing is interesting as we expect Google to announce its new messaging service at Google I/O this week.

The company just wrapped up a major overhaul of its email service rebranding Hotmail and Live accounts to its Outlook brand. Outlook is notable for its Windows 8 Metro style user interface.