iChat question..

[Joe]

A friend can't figure out iChat...i couldn't help her because I don't 
use it...but maybe you can help her:

"Hi! I just got my new iBook yesterday and I'm loving it so far, 
despite adjustment issues (this is my first Mac). The thing that's 
driving my crazy at the moment is that I can't figure out how to create 
MY profile on iChat. Any tips?
Oh yeah, one more thing... is there anyway to view my friends' away 
messages while they're idle? It's kinda annoying that it only displays 
that they're idle and not what they're doing. I hope I make sense.
Thanks in advance! :0)"