Thanks for the advice. Got the 3GS unlocked.
Now, I have a second iPhone... my original one when they first came out. Thought I would also unlock this one and give it to them as well.
PROBLEM: I charged the phone... just took it out of the charger... but the screen is only showing the Apple icon... will not show anything else... and will not allow me to turn it off or anything. I have tried holding down the home button and the sleep button. Any suggestions for moving forward? Thanks!