Google has announced a real-time gadgets API for its Gtalk for us to play games with our friends. The real-time API allows gadget developers to write application that can communicate asynchronously with another endpoint, whether that endpoint is another instance of the application.
Chat online while playing games with XFire
However there are many other more complex scenarios that these APIs enable; for instance, a chat application that translates text as participants type it, or a shared whiteboard, or an application that lets a couple choose the best flight for their upcoming vacation.
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