How frustrating to sign onto MSN Messenger and find no one there.You could get round this buy adding Spleak to your contacts.Spleak is a chatbot or virtual buddy who will chat away online with you or even play a few games in just the same way as a friend.No downloads, just add spleak@hotmail.com and you can chat, play and flirt to your heart’s content.Spleak is a 20 year-old virtual girl, born in France and now living in New York. She attends international studies at a university and works in a coffee shop in her spare time. techdigest

IMT Labs, a company founded by Danish serial entrepreneur and business genius Morten Lund, announced today a new relationship with Microsoft Corp. that will allow MSN Messenger users to add IMT Labs’ chatbot, named Spleak, to their list of MSN Messenger contacts and start chatting with Spleak immediately. Users will be able to enjoy free and instant access to the extensive and entertaining Spleak character, without having to download or install any applications.

IMT Labs has spent the month of December 2005 testing the Spleak chatbot on its new platform, and results have been impressive. Although no public announcements have been made, more than 350,000 internet users have already added Spleak to their MSN Messenger contacts, resulting in an average of more than 45 minutes chatting with her.

“We are very excited about this new agreement,” said Nicolaj Reffstrup, chief executive officer and co-founder of IMT Labs. “It is extremely easy to chat with Spleak just by adding her e-mail address to MSN Messenger. I am confident that she will get thousands of new friends in the future.”

He adds that Spleak’s main audience are teens looking to have fun and be entertained online, and that is exactly what Spleak is all about, says Reffstrup. He now looks forward to developing the chatbot even further with new and exciting features that appeal to the picky teen audience.