When Will SLim Be In? (I.E., Instant Messaging Client For SL)

After a brief (but lamented) absence from Second Life blogging, Massively's Tateru Nino has news of a Linden trademark application for "SLim"-- instant messaging, the wording reads, for "computer, mobile, wireless, and telecommunication".  In other words, this seems to describe a thin version of the SL client that'll focus on IM.  Does that mean a usable version of this technology is coming soon?  As with any company's patent filing, caveats are in order-- corporations often file patents and trademarks as a way of preemptively staking out territory, even if they don't ultimately use them.  (After all, where's the virtual world Apple Store that Steve Jobs' company filed a patent on two years ago?)  More than that, however, is the fact that there's already a slim Second Life client for instant messaging-- it's called AjaxLife for iPhone, and on this front, a kid named Katharine Berry seems to be running circles around a 250 person multinational corporation.  Image: Massively.com.