Labs

Skype is available for Mac OS X, Linux and Pocket PC as well as Windows, and users on different platforms can chat and call one another. Skype is different from the other IMs here in that its main focus is free internet voice calls. Its text messaging facility, Chat, is presented as a secondary service, but it is a capable utility. You can invite multiple contacts into a Chat window and display a topic above the chat window if required. A silhouette is shown next to your name, but there are alternative icons and you can substitute a picture of your choice. As with most other services, you also have control over what information others can view in your profile.

SkypeOut allows you to make calls from a PC to landline and mobile phones. This is a charged-for service that works out cheaper than normal phone calls. Skype also allows you to receive calls on your PC from standard phones. This facility, called SkypeIn, was still in beta at the time of writing, with limited coverage. Even so, as the UK and USA are both included it is already having an impact. SkypeIn provides you with a regular phone number and you can choose where it is located - ideally the place that allows the maximum number of your friends and family to make a local phone call. If that's London, for example, your contacts dial a number starting 020 and pay their

Each SkypeIn subscription comes with a free Skype Voicemail subscription, which normally costs €15 per year. Skype Voicemail means you can pick up messages, and you don't have to be online for someone to leave a message. You can keep the messages for as long as you like.

The latest version of the program, Skype 2.0, is now in beta. This offers integrated video calling so, with webcams at either end of the conversation, you can see your friends and family on the full computer screen or in the Skype calling window. Other enhancements are a simplified user interface with one-click access to key features and more options for personalisation using avatars and custom ringtones. Even the emoticons are now animated. On a more practical note, Skype 2.0 shows your time zone. This should prevent you waking up your friends or colleagues by forgetting what time it is in their location.

A range of add-ons is available for Skype. Creative Labs has a produced a Skype Edition webcam complete with a Skype-certified headset (£30 including VAT from www.dabs.com). Many Skype users may feel more comfortable using a phone rather than a headset, and Skype phones that store your contacts' details help you get the best from the service. The Skye Dual Phone (£80 including VAT from www.dabs.com) is a USB cordless device that gives you the choice of making regular phone calls or Skype calls from a single handset which can be plugged into the phone network and your PC simultaneously.