A new automated chat bot said Friday that it is leaving its instant messaging roots.

Hurricane Electric, which launched its MyOwnBuddy bot for use over AOL's Instant Messenger (AIM), has launched its browser version, MyOwnBuddy.com.

MyOwnBuddy.com lets users to talk with Hurricane Electric's chat bot without having to log onto an Instant Messaging program such as AIM. Users can access the same information from the Web site and use a different format that doesn't require any downloads.

The Web site also allows MyOwnBuddy users to discuss future implementations for the chat bot or general use inquires through an online forum. Users can also see other users currently using the bot and receive private messages.

The bot is still available on AIM and is slated for launch on Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Chat, Jabber Instant Messenger and ICQ later this year.

The Fremont, Calif.-based Hurricane originally developed the bot to enhance its online technical services solution. But the technology took a different turn during the beta stages.

MyOwnBuddy can now be used as a PDA, a calculator, a Web browser, a dictionary, a translator and a general information gatherer. MyOwnBuddy acts as an appointment manager, and can remind them through an AIM window or MyOwnBuddy.com when the date and time arrive. The bot also stores contact information and can access information such as climate, population, zip code, government type, GDP and maps for every city and country in the world. The bot can also translate between English, Spanish, French, Italian and German and convert currency.

MyOwnBuddy can also perform pings and trace routes through an AIM window or it's Web site along with a whois lookup.

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Other well known AIM bots include SmarterChild and MovieFinderBuddy.