empathy doesn't handle irc: url schemes from Firefox

Binary package hint: empathy

When I click on irc:// links in a browser (such as Firefox; these urls are described here: http://www.w3.org/Addressing/draft-mirashi-url-irc-01.txt) I get a nice little pop-up asking me what program I would like to handle this link. When I then choose my default Ubuntu application (Empathy), empathy opens up and doesn't nothing...that is, as though I had just opened it any normal way.
It would be nice if a window would open to the IRC room for the link I had just clicked.
This could be a bit of a let-down because so much of Ubuntu's support/community depends on IRC.

ProblemType: Bug
Architecture: amd64
Date: Sat Dec 12 23:38:32 2009
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 9.10
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
Package: empathy 2.28.1.1-0ubuntu1
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.31-16.53-generic
SourcePackage: empathy
Uname: Linux 2.6.31-16-generic x86_64
XsessionErrors:
 (gnome-settings-daemon:8617): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (gnome-settings-daemon:8617): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_propagate_error: assertion `src != NULL' failed
 (polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1:8718): GLib-CRITICAL **: g_once_init_leave: assertion `initialization_value != 0' failed
 (nautilus:8702): Eel-CRITICAL **: eel_preferences_get_boolean: assertion `preferences_is_initialized ()' failed
 (gnome-panel:8701): Gdk-WARNING **: /build/buildd/gtk+2.0-2.18.3/gdk/x11/gdkdrawable-x11.c:952 drawable is not a pixmap or window