The new Skype version 5.0 for Windows includes a Facebook tab and integrates Facebook’s news feed and phonebook into Skype, the Luxembourg-based Skype said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Skype users can call Facebook friends directly on mobile or landline phones, send SMS messages or make free Skype-to-Skype calls to Facebook friends who are also Skype users, it said.<\/p>\n
They can also post status updates to Facebook that can be synched with Skype “mood” messages and comment on Facebook friends’ updates and wall posts.<\/p>\n
“We’re working with companies such as Skype to make it easy to find your friends anytime you want to connect,” said Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network.<\/p>\n
Skype on Thursday also added a new group video-calling feature and “automatic call recovery,” which helps reconnect calls interrupted due to Internet connection problems.<\/p>\n
Skype said video-calling accounted for approximately 40 percent of all Skype-to-Skype minutes in the first half of the year.<\/p>\n
Skype, which was founded in 2003, bypasses the standard telephone network by channeling voice, video and text conversations over the Internet.<\/p>\n
The company announced plans in August to raise up to 100 million dollars in shares by listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange.<\/p>\n