How can I send/receive IM Messages using python?

How can I send/receive IM Messages using python? I want to send AOL Instant Messe开发者_运维知识库nger messages and receive them using python. I basically want to take in input from the chat, process it and then send the processed input back.

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Here is some sample code: http://code.google.com/p/madcow/source/browse/trunk/madcow/protocol/aim.py

Also: http://www.gilesgoatboy.org/python/skippy.html

Generally, lots of examples can be found using a google search for: python aim