Yahoo! is entering a suddenly crowded field, offering Skype-like capabilities through its instant-messaging service that will let people dial regular phone numbers using their computers or receive calls from conventional phones.

The company has not set a firm date for the availability of the new paid features to the mostly free Yahoo! messenger service, but indicated the launch was imminent.

Yahoo!’s addition of computer-to-phone capabilities follows a similar retooling of the rival AOL Instant Messenger service from Time Warner in October. It also comes just as Skype is revamping its popular service with video calling, a feature that has been available through Yahoo! Messenger for several years, though only for computer-to-computer calls.

In a similar vein, Sony introduced a free Internet-based phone service last month with an emphasis on visual calling that the company hopes will fulfill sales of its video equipment.

Yahoo!’s new “Phone Out” option enables users to call regular and mobile phones for 1 US cent per minute in the States and 2 US cents per minute to 30 other countries including Argentina, Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Korea.

On the flip side, users can sign up for a traditional phone number to receive unlimited calls to their computers from anywhere for a monthly fee of US$3 or an annual payment of about US$30.

The same services at Skype, which was acquired by eBay for US$2.6 billion in October, are 2.3 US cents per minute for computer-to-phone calls to about 25 countries and about US$35 a year for a SkypeIn phone number to receive calls.

Yahoo!’s upgrade also includes a contact search bar for its instant messenger window to make it easier to find people in buddy lists by typing parts of a name or phone number. – AP

Related Posts:

• No Related Posts