Skype Integration Added To Outlook.com

Outlook.com users will soon be able to make audio and video calls directly from within the webmail service after Microsoft announced it was rolling out a preview version of Skype.

The preview is being made available to UK users from today, with the US and Germany receiving the update in the next few months. Eventually every Outlook.com inbox will have access to the service, including instant messages.

“By adding Skype conversations to your modern email, Microsoft is creating yet another way for you to connect to the people you care about most,” it said.

Skype Outlook.com integration

Skype requires a one-time plug-in download for Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and users must connect Skype to Outlook.com using a Microsoft account. Existing Skype users will be asked to link the two services together, allowing them to add their contacts to Outlook.com.

Calls are initiated by clicking the Skype video or audio call buttons in an instant message conversation or by hovering over a friend’s contact details in an email.

Microsoft acquired Skype in a £5.4 billion takeover 2011 and has since closed down Windows Live Messenger as it focuses its attention on the VoIP service.

It has released a new version for Windows 8 and a beta version of 6.1 for Windows which added integration with Microsoft Outlook 2010 and 2013, allowing users to make calls directly from within the mail client.

Last week, Skype finally released a preview version for BlackBerry 10 smartphones, but it is so far only compatible with the QWERTY-based BlackBerry Q10 and not the touchscreen BlackBerry Z10, which was launched in the UK earlier this year.

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