Skype long ago became the market leader for calling friends, family and colleagues over the net. Most recently, it was taken over by Microsoft and the latest release see it advance with video conferencing for several participants, an improved contacts list, Facebook integration and many more additional features.

With Skype you can call other Skype users absolutely free wherever they are in the world thanks to P2P technology. Skype brings together the main functions of talk, chat, video, file sharing and screen sharing in one main window. In the latest release, by default your contacts list is on the left with the other basic functions in the main part of the program window making it more streamlined and slicker than previous releases.

New in Skype 5 is the ability to video conference with up to ten participants. Group conferencing has also been made easier thanks to the redesigned call window which means that all distractions (such as other conversations) are minimized and only the names of participants displayed. However, although you can video chat with one contact for free, group video conferencing is now a premium feature which you have to pay for,

Skype features a new contacts list sorted by category and you can add favorites to the top of the list. Searching for them has also been made easier by integrating them with your Mac address book. You can also now rename contacts so that you're not stuck with their default username. Finally, accessing Skype is now easier thanks to a mini Skype control bar that sits on top of any web pages, documents or photos you've got open although some may find this a bit intrusive.

Although the latest Skype adds many improvements, some people may miss the smaller and more discreet interface of Skype 2.8. There is a feeling that the developers have gone a bit over the top in expanding Skype and "hiding" certain features and it will take users of the old version some getting used to. The fact that video conferencing is now a premium feature will also annoy many faithful users.

Finally, most recently Skype was taken over by Microsoft which has led to further integration with Microsoft services among other things. You can now sign into Skype with your Microsoft Live account details for example and chat to MSN contacts online using Skype. There's also been considerable integration with Facebook allowing you to chat and communicate with Facebook contacts from Skype.

The new Skype brings video conferencing and a more intelligent user interface that once you've adapted to, should make Skype an even better way to keep in touch while you're away. However, those that don't like the interface changes will be less than impressed and can still download version 2.8.