In the new version of QQ for Mac, the contacts and chat windows (see below) look exactly the same as before, save for a camera icon that lets you initiate cross-platform video chat, with friends who are also on Mac, or on a PC, or using the QQ HD for iPad app.

The QQ iPad app isn’t exactly getting rave reviews – indeed, it’s mostly getting panned for not having push IM support – and the new app for Mac won’t exactly overwhelm, but at least it’ll allow the small but growing number of Chinese people rocking Macs to get on QQ without having to boot into Windows on their MacBooks.

QQ is a huge cash-cow for Tencent, with so many virtual purchases possible across a variety of its games and features, but none of that is possible directly through the Mac app. Instead, for now, it’s a hobby for a few Tencent staff, and a toy for the relatively few people who need to use it. On the bright side, at least Tencent has been faster than Microsoft, who, after more than a decade, has still failed to roll out video chat support for Mac at an ordinary consumer level.

The app is in the Mac App Store, but hasn’t yet been updated, so in the meantime get it here, direct from Tencent’s cute new Apple apps support pages.