Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is an open-standard communications protocol for message-oriented middleware based on XML (Extensible Markup Language). The protocol was originally named Jabber, and was developed by the Jabber open-source community in 1999 for near-real-time, extensible instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Designed to be extensible, the protocol today also finds application in VoIP and file transfer signaling.