America Online has <A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-5697824.html?tag=zdnn.alert">expanded access to its blog pages,</A> offering anyone who signs up for AOL's free instant-messenger service the opportunity to create, read and post to the online journals, the company announced on Friday. Company officials said that while signing up for an IM screen is a requirement for access to the previously proprietary AOL Journals section, Journals users are not required to download AOL's client software to access the screen name. The blogs can be created in public or private modes, allowing individuals to choose whom they wish to share their online journals with.