Microsoft Takes a Swipe at Gmail by Embracing Google Talk - Digits - WSJ

Meanwhile, Google is expected to unveil a consolidated and refined communications tool/service suite today

"It’s interesting if only because Microsoft is trying to lure users of Gmail, one of the widest-used email services on the Web, by using one of Google’s services. Microsoft has loudly railed against its rival in the past — sometimes the saber-rattling can get comical, like Microsoft’s big “Bing It On” campaign.
But a big organization employing an open service that happens to be run by a competitor — that happens. Even if Microsoft is a little louder when it comes to its fighting words with Google."

Microsoft Takes a Swipe at Gmail by Embracing Google Talk - Digits - WSJ