<P> Clarification from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) was issued to member firms in the financial services industry in December, 2007, noting that "electronic communications", "email", and "electronic correspondence" may be used interchangeably and can include such forms of electronic messaging as instant messaging and text messaging . Changes to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, effective December 1, 2006, created a new category for electronic records which may be requested during discovery in legal proceedings . </P> <P> Most nations also regulate use of electronic messaging and electronic records retention in similar fashion as the United States . The most common regulations related to IM at work involve the need to produce archived business communications to satisfy government or judicial requests under law . Many instant messaging communications fall into the category of business communications that must be archived and retrievable . </P> <P> In the early 2000s, a new class of IT security provider emerged to provide remedies for the risks and liabilities faced by corporations who chose to use IM for business communications . The IM security providers created new products to be installed in corporate networks for the purpose of archiving, content - scanning, and security - scanning IM traffic moving in and out of the corporation . Similar to the e-mail filtering vendors, the IM security providers focus on the risks and liabilities described above . </P> <P> With rapid adoption of IM in the workplace, demand for IM security products began to grow in the mid-2000s . By 2007, the preferred platform for the purchase of security software had become the "computer appliance", according to IDC, who estimate that by 2008, 80% of network security products will be delivered via an appliance . </P>

Which is the instant messenger that is used for chatting