diff --git a/build.xml b/build.xml
index 9f47beae5..f44e188c4 100644
--- a/build.xml
+++ b/build.xml
@@ -131,10 +131,12 @@
                 <include name="**/*.au"/>
                 <include name="**/*.gif"/>
                 <include name="**/*.png"/>
+                <include name="**/*.PNG"/>
                 <include name="**/*.jpg"/>
                 <include name="**/*.properties"/>
                 <include name="**/*.xml"/>
-            	<include name="**/*"/>
+            	<include name="**/*.themerc"/>
+                <include name="**/gtkrc"/>
             </fileset>
             <fileset dir="${src2}">
                 <include name="**/*.jpeg"/>
@@ -625,5 +627,18 @@ javax.swing.event, javax.swing.border"/>
         </jar>
     </target>
 
+    <target name="dupe">
+        <copy todir="/tmp/dupe1"><fileset dir="${src}">
+                <include name="**/*.jpeg"/>
+                <include name="**/*.wav"/>
+                <include name="**/*.au"/>
+                <include name="**/*.gif"/>
+                <include name="**/*.png"/>
+                <include name="**/*.jpg"/>
+                <include name="**/*.properties"/>
+                <include name="**/*.xml"/>
+            	<include name="**/gtkrc"/>
+            </fileset></copy>
+    </target>
 </project>
 
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactGroupImpl.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactGroupImpl.java
index 5c032ce2b..b49bd448f 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactGroupImpl.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactGroupImpl.java
@@ -28,9 +28,11 @@ public class MetaContactGroupImpl
     private final List dummySubgroupsList = new LinkedList();
 
     /**
-     * The protocol specific group that this groups encapsulates.
+     * All protocol specific contact groups encapsulated by this
+     * <tt>MetaContactGoup</tt>.
      */
-    private Vector protoGroups = new Vector();
+    private Hashtable protoGroups = new Hashtable();
+
 
     private String groupName = null;
 
@@ -168,17 +170,19 @@ public Iterator getSubgroups()
     }
 
     /**
-     * Returns an <tt>Iterator</tt> over all protocol specific groups that
-     * this group encapsulates.
-     * @return Iterator
+     * Adds the specified <tt>group</tt> to the list of protocol specific
+     * groups merged by this MetaContactGroup.
+     * @param owner the ProtocolProviderService where the specified group came
+     * from.
+     * @param group the <tt>ContactGroup</tt> to add merge into this
+     * MetaContactGroup.
      */
-    Iterator getProtoGroups()
+    public void addProtoGroup(ProtocolProviderService owner,
+                              ContactGroup group)
     {
-        return protoGroups.iterator();
+        this.protoGroups.put(owner, group);
     }
 
-//    public void addProtoGroup(ContactGroup group)
-
     /**
      * Verifies whether a protocol specific ContactGroup with the specified
      * name and originating from the specified provider is encapsulated by this
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactListServiceImpl.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactListServiceImpl.java
index 842793b1c..acb490a44 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactListServiceImpl.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/MetaContactListServiceImpl.java
@@ -26,6 +26,9 @@
  * properly if the underlying service providers have already been loaded at the
  * time this one gets started.
  *
+ * @todo might be a good idea to say that the implementation does not support
+ * subgroups.
+ *
  * @author Emil Ivov
  */
 public class MetaContactListServiceImpl
@@ -332,17 +335,39 @@ public MetaContact findMetaContactByID(String metaContactID)
      * sure they are all present in the local contact list.
      * @param presenceOpSet the presence operation set whose contact list we'd
      * like to synchronize with the local contact list.
+     * @param provider the provider that the operation set belongs to.
      */
     private void synchronizeOpSetWithServerContactList(
+                    ProtocolProviderService provider,
                     OperationSetPersistentPresence presenceOpSet)
     {
         ContactGroup rootProtoGroup
             = presenceOpSet.getServerStoredContactListRoot();
 
+        logger.trace("subgroups: " + rootProtoGroup.countSubGroups());
+
+        //first register the root group
+        rootMetaGroup.registerProtocolSpecificRoot(
+            provider,
+            presenceOpSet.getServerStoredContactListRoot());
 
-//        rootMetaGroup.addSubgroup();
+        //register subgroups and contacts
+        //this implementation only supports one level of groups apart from
+        //the root group - so let's keep this simple and do it in a nested loop
+        Iterator subgroupsIter = rootMetaGroup.getSubgroups();
 
-        logger.trace("subgroups: " + rootProtoGroup.countSubGroups());
+        while(subgroupsIter.hasNext())
+        {
+            ContactGroup group  = (ContactGroup)subgroupsIter.next();
+
+            //right now we simply map this group to an existing one
+            //without being cautious and verify whether we already have it
+            //registered
+            MetaContactGroupImpl newMetaGroup
+                = new MetaContactGroupImpl(group.getGroupName());
+
+            newMetaGroup.addProtoGroup(provider, group);
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -367,7 +392,7 @@ private void handleProviderAdded(ProtocolProviderService provider)
         //If we have a persistent presence op set - then retrieve its contat
         //list and merge it with the local one.
         if( opSetPersPresence != null ){
-            synchronizeOpSetWithServerContactList(opSetPersPresence);
+            synchronizeOpSetWithServerContactList(provider, opSetPersPresence);
         }
 
         /** @todo implement handling non persistent presence operation sets */
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/RootMetaContactGroupImpl.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/RootMetaContactGroupImpl.java
index 61d6f5d8c..983e2418a 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/RootMetaContactGroupImpl.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/impl/contactlist/RootMetaContactGroupImpl.java
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import java.util.*;
 
 import net.java.sip.communicator.service.contactlist.*;
+import net.java.sip.communicator.service.protocol.*;
 
 /**
  * An implementation of the meta contact group that would only be used for the
@@ -23,8 +24,17 @@ public class RootMetaContactGroupImpl
      */
     private List dummyContacts = new LinkedList();
 
+    /**
+     * The name of the group (fixed for root groups since it won't show).
+     */
     private static final String groupName = "RootMetaContactGroup";
 
+    /**
+     * The root groups for all protocol contact lists that we've detected so
+     * far, mapped against their owner protocol providers.
+     */
+    private Hashtable protoGroups = new Hashtable();
+
     /**
      * Creates an instance of the root meta contact group.
      */
@@ -158,11 +168,17 @@ public String getGroupName()
         return groupName;
     }
 
-
-
-    void addProtocolSpecificGroup()
+    /**
+     * Addes the specified group to the list of protocol specific roots
+     * that we're encapsulating in this meta contact list.
+     * @param protoRoot the root to add to the groups merged in this meta contact
+     * group.
+     * @param ownerProtocol the protocol that the specified group came from.
+     */
+    void registerProtocolSpecificRoot(
+                ProtocolProviderService ownerProtocol, ContactGroup protoRoot)
     {
-
+        protoGroups.put(ownerProtocol, protoRoot);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -177,7 +193,7 @@ void addSubgroup(MetaContactGroup subgroup)
 
     /**
      * Removes the meta contact group with the specified index.
-     * @param the <tt>index</tt> index of the group to remove.
+     * @param index the index of the group to remove.
      * @return the <tt>MetaContactGroup</tt> that has just been removed.
      */
     MetaContactGroupImpl removeSubgroup(int index)
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContact.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContact.java
index dba601112..a87ffc332 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContact.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContact.java
@@ -73,4 +73,10 @@ public interface MetaContact
      * @return a human readable String that represents this meta contact.
      */
     public String getDisplayName();
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a String representation of this <tt>MetaContact</tt>.
+     * @return a String representation of this <tt>MetaContact</tt>.
+     */
+    public String toString();
 }
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContactGroup.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContactGroup.java
index 301036785..9b89c8a27 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContactGroup.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/contactlist/MetaContactGroup.java
@@ -112,4 +112,11 @@ public MetaContact getMetaContact(int index)
     public MetaContactGroup getMetaContactSubgroup(int index)
         throws IndexOutOfBoundsException;
 
+    /**
+     * Returns a String representation of this group and the contacts it
+     * contains (may turn out to be a relatively long string).
+     * @return a String representing this group and its child contacts.
+     */
+    public String toString();
+
 }
diff --git a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/protocol/ProtocolProviderService.java b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/protocol/ProtocolProviderService.java
index c54d69776..f1ed78771 100644
--- a/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/protocol/ProtocolProviderService.java
+++ b/src/net/java/sip/communicator/service/protocol/ProtocolProviderService.java
@@ -99,4 +99,11 @@ public void removeRegistrationStateChangeListener(
      * collection.
      */
     public void shutdown();
+
+    /**
+     * A hashcode allowing usage of protocol providers as keys in Hashtables.
+     * @return an int that may be used when storing protocol providers as
+     * hashtable keys.
+     */
+    public int hashCode();
 }