By Stevie Smith Oct 17, 2007, 12:06 GMT
Yet more news emanating from the massively popular social networking scene today following MySpace’s announcement that it is joining forces with online phone provider Skype to increase the coverage of its instant messaging program.
Social networking Web site MySpace joins forces with Internet telephony specialist Skype to bring free PC-to-PC voice chat to MySpaceIM (instant messenger) users. Credit: Skype.
In a move likely to place MySpace’s IM system on a more of an even footing with the likes of MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger, the Sydney Morning Herald reports that partnering with eBay-owned Skype will allow IM users to engage in free voice chats with both MySapce and Skype members.
Other features introduced by the integration of the new "MySpaceIM with Skype" software will see MySpace users able to link their profiles, photographs, and individual avatar representations directly to their existing Skype accounts.
"We haven’t really pushed it [IM] that much," commented MySpace Australia general manager Rebekah Horne regarding the positioning of MySpaceIM prior to the deal with Skype, "… now that it’s a fully robust product we’ll start to push it out."
The collaborative software release is expected to arrive, ready for user download, in November and, interestingly, it won’t limit users to just PC-to-PC communication but also provide support for SkypeOut, which is Skype’s fee-based service that allows PC users to call through to landline connections.
The software will also function with SkypeIn, which see a local phone number enabling users to receive incoming calls from both landlines and mobile handsets, as well as allowing them access to voicemail and call forwarding.
"We are interconnecting the world’s largest voice network and the world’s largest video and social network," trumpeted Michael van Swaaij, interim CEO of Skype. "It feels like an obvious fit."
News Corp-owned MySpace is presently the world’s biggest social networking site, boasting around 110 million users. Skype’s online telephony service has some 220 million users worldwide.
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