Finding a new mutli-platform Instant Messaging client
 

These days, now that Linux is far more usable as a desktop OS, a few of my friends have made the switch full-time. Some of them aren't particularly computer literate, but they're getting on fine at the moment.

My question is, what is the best IM client people are using for cross-platform communication? Most of us, myself included, are still using Windows for various reasons, and so the standard IM we use is MSN Messenger. We can all talk to each other, but the Linux users are left behind in terms of features.

Anyone have suggestions of a usuable, feature-filled IM service we can all use, for things like voice, file-transfer, avatars, smileys etc. Ease of use & functionality on all platforms are the priorities.

What does the community suggest?

Many thanks,
Bawbag.

I don't know about voice, but I think Kopete has everything else. For voice you could always switch to some other voip client. I like Teamspeak, but I'm not sure if they have a linux client yet.