The PS Vita already has voice chat and text chat through its built-in Party application.

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The good news for the pair, who got started on the strength of a chat at a mate's engagement party, is that they've made rapid headway with critics.

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Mr Nagatsuma, meanwhile, has become a star of the television chat shows and has helped revive the fortunes of his unhappy party, whose members until recently speculated about its very survival.

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For example, in Canada a former director of a national political party recently sued OpenPolitics.ca, a British Columbia-based political chat site, after he objected to several comments posted on the site.

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The timing of the Reddit chat was seen to be significant as it coincided with the US Republican Party convention.

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Before the official party kicks off, the Shard public-relations team on Wednesday invited dozens of media members to an embargoed chat with several key players in the 12-year odyssey of turning the Shard into reality.

WSJ: Shard Is London's Latest Excuse to Party, Whinge