Google / AOL Partnership to Aid IM Interopability

A much overlooked consequence of the Google / AOL partnership is their commitment to interopability between GoogleTalk and AIM.

From the press release:

"Google Talk Instant Messaging Software to Communicate with AIM users"

Such an arrangement will propel GoogleTalk from the runt of the IM litter to an equal first position with the current heavy-weight of the field, AIM. Will this be enough to encourage the other big players (Yahoo!Talk and MSN) to play friendly?