MySpace and Skype to get chatty

MySpace and Skype are set to announce a tie-in that will see the eBay-owned telephony client providing voice chat services for the News Corp-owned social network's instant messaging client, MySpaceIM.

Through this deal, MySpace users will be able to link their profiles to Skype accounts, and will be able to place voice chat calls through the MySpaceIM client or the Skype client to both Skype and MySpace members - but if your MySpace profile is set to "private", you will be exempt from calls from people who aren't on your friends list. The service will be available in the 20 countries where MySpace has "localised communities".

A joint release for the two companies emphasised the sheer number of users that this will encompass: "With more than 110 million monthly active MySpace users and 220 million Skype registered users around the world, this partnership connects two of the most popular communications platforms on the internet to create the world's largest online, voice-connected community."

But at the same time, only 25 million out of MySpace's 110 million active users have downloaded the MySpaceIM client. And neither company is at the top of its game. MySpace still leads the social networking field in membership and traffic but has lost its place in the spotlight to fast-growing rival Facebook. And Skype hasn't exactly turned out to be a real winner for eBay, with some critics saying the two are mismatched.

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

Caroline McCarthy writes for CNET News.com