Wed Jul 6, 2011 4:14pm EDT
* New one-to-one video chat service with Skype
* CEO says Facebook now has 750 mln users
* Counters new Google+ offering
* Microsoft, Google shares rise (Recasts with Google; adds comment from Facebook, Skype CEOs)
By Alexei Oreskovic
PALO ALTO, Calif., July 6 (Reuters) - Facebook willintegrate free Skype video chat into its service as it looks tocement its role as a communications hub and drive back GoogleInc's (GOOG.O) foray into online social networking.
The agreement -- announced by Facebook Chief Executive MarkZuckerberg at the company's headquarters in Palo Alto,California, on Wednesday -- deepens the company's cooperationwith Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), which is in the process of buyingSkype to build up its Web presence.
Zuckerberg said Facebook has hit a record 750 millionusers. The new service, rolling out from Wednesday, could be ahuge boost for Skype, which currently has about 145 millionregular users.
"This is opening up a whole new user base for Skype," saidKim Caughey Forrest, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group."The core of Skype users are people that have extraordinarycircumstances -- they have a computer but no money, or theyhave friends and family on a different continent. This couldultimately grow the number of Skype numbers that use it withinthe United States."
The service, initially limited to one-to-one video chat,will be free. Financial details of the deal, if any, were notdisclosed.
Tony Bates, Skype's Chief Executive, said Wednesday's dealwith Facebook is only the start of a potentially lucrativepartnership.
"For us, this makes a lot of business sense," Bates saidat the Palo Alto event. "We get huge reach. In the future,we're talking about potentially also having Skype paid productsavailable within the Web format we saw here today."
HITTING BACK AT GOOGLE
Facebook -- which also unveiled a group messaging function,adding to its existing one-to-one text chat -- is returningfire at Google, which last week turned up the competitive heatby introducing a social networking service dubbed Google+.
While many of Google+'s social networking features aresimilar to those already available on Facebook, Google isgenerating interest with its videoconferencing function, whichallows up to 10 people on the service to participate in a videocall.
"We think this is awesome because we're using the besttechnology that's out there for doing video chat with the bestsocial infrastructure that's out there to create some reallycool new scenarios," said Zuckerberg.
Facebook's new offering could benefit Microsoft, which owns1.6 percent of Facebook and announced its $8.5 billion purchaseof Skype in May.
The world's largest software company is investing heavilyto muscle in on Google's turf with its Bing search engine, andis hoping Skype -- which it is buying for about 10 timesSkype's annual sales -- will help it broaden its portfolio ofWeb-based properties.
"Clearly you will see more usage (of Skype)," said SidParakh, analyst, at McAdams Wright Ragen. "It makes Skypestickier in the consumer mind. That will help Microsoft as itstarts to integrate Skype into its products."
Skype, which was founded in 2003, allows people to makeInternet phone calls and video calls at no charge and has alsodeveloped premium services. (For details on the service, clickon [ID:nN1E7650VG])
Microsoft shares rose 1.15 percent to close at $26.33 onNasdaq, while Google's rose 0.55 percent to $535.36. (Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, writing by Bill Rigby, editingby Gerald E. McCormick, Gary Hill)
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