About Skype

kype’s software lets computer users talk to each other for free and make cheap calls to mobiles and landlines.

Using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services, computer users can communicate with each other via a headset or microphone and speakers.

Exact numbers of Skype users are hard to come by but the company claims that its software has been downloaded about 200 million times and it is thought about 50 million people regularly use it.

The firm was founded in 2003 by the Swedish and Estonian entrepreneurs who created the Kazaa file-sharing network. Internet auction firm eBay bought Skype in September 2005 for $2.6 billion (SFr3 billion).

Other players in the online phone market include computer giants such as Google, Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo.