You can use IE, but you'll need 4.0 or later to do it. I've got both Netscape and MSIE, both at the 4.0 version level and both of them are working with the chat. My version 3.0 MSIE wouldn't load the Java at all. If you're not at V4.0 or later for both Netscape and MSIE then it's time to upgrade. Jon