This is the fourth in a series of video tutorials by Peter Adams, Online Operations Coordinator, to give you a walkthrough demo of Google Talk. If you have missed the earlier three, here are the links:

Part 1 - Adding Friends
Part 2 - Block or remove contacts
Part 3 - Voice Calls

If your friend is away from his or her computer or not logged in to Google Talk at all, you can leave a voice message which will be converted to an MP3 file and sent to their email account. In fact, if you're too nervous to ask out that special friend via direct conversation or have any other reason to want to deliver a message in not-quite-real-time, you can send it directly to voicemail. Learn how by watching this video.