Here is a great tip on how to add Google Talk contacts as shortcuts to the Windows desktop. This makes it possible to quickly reach a bunch of important Google Talk contacts faster and more comfortably. It should also work to integrate those contacts with application launchers like Launchy to make it even more comfortable.

To add a contact in Google Talk as a shortcut do the following. Right-click the computer desktop and select New > Shortcut. Enter the following string as the location of the item: gtalk:chat?jid=<name>@email.com.

Change username@email.com to the email address of the contact in Google Talk. Click on the Next button and add a descriptive name for the shortcut. If everything worked out well clicking on the shortcut will open the chat window with that contact in Google Talk immediately even if Google Talk is not running at that time. It will launch Google Talk and display the chat window after the login procedure in this case.

Update: You can also replace chat with call to be able to instantly call someone in Google Talk.