IMAGINE being able to view your friends' blogs, photos and social networking profiles, and chat with them at the same time.
Software engineer Hu Shunjie, 26, decided to write a program that does just that.
And now software developers want to license it.
Other programs let users merge their contact lists from various chat platforms, but until recently, none has let users simultaneously access bigger systems such as social networking sites.
Mr Hu took about three months to write his program, called AirTalkr, which he created using Adobe Air, a platform for developing desktop applications.
Last October, he entered the program in a contest run by Adobe. He didn't win, but the program has been featured on some tech websites.
What those tech terms mean
Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger and ICQ let users send real-time messages to each other
IRC (inter-relay chat): Program that lets users interact in public chatrooms
Blogs: Online journals
Interface: How users interact with a computer system
File-sharing: A function that lets users share files (including music and photos) with one another
Emoticons: Graphics to show moods
AirTalkr supports YouTube and the photo-sharing site Flickr.
It also let users who have chat accounts with MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger chat with their contacts simultaneously.
Users who use multiple social networking sites - such as MySpace, Friendster, Twitter - can also log in to all sites at the same time.
AirTalkr does not support Facebook for now.
Its main draw is the AirCard function, which lets users view each contact's latest blog posts, uploaded photos, videos and personal profile updates at a glance.
The idea for this, Mr Hu said, came from his girlfriend.
'She told me that if it were only a chat program, nobody would want to use it, and that I needed to add something new.'
Mr Hu didn't spend much to develop it. The only costs were server and domain fees - about $200 a year.
AirTalkr was featured on Mashable.com, a website that reviews tech applications.
Mr Hu, a National University of Singapore computing graduate, said: 'Its popularity jumped after it was featured. It has been downloaded about 10,000 times.'
He said that five software companies - from Singapore, Malaysia, the US and Italy - have approached him, asking to license AirTalkr and develop it further.
Mr Hu said he cannot name the companies at the moment.
Several tech blogs have also reviewed the program. Dailyapp.net wrote that it has a 'slick interface' and that it is 'fast and responsive'.
Webware.com reviewer Josh Lowensohn wrote: 'Keep an eye on this one... The AirCard concept... might make this one stand out.'
Some reviewers pointed out that the program lacked features such as file-sharing and emoticons - which Mr Hu will address in an enhanced version to be released next month.
The program is free to download from AirTalkr.com.
