In a partnership with Skype, Facebook added a video calling feature to its page.  Facebook’s new video calling feature allows users to click on a video icon within Facebook’s chat window. If a user doesn’t have the Skype app already enabled, he or she can download it within 30 seconds and be up and running, executives said. But whether Skype will require users to use Facebook Credits for its paid services is an open question. The partnership will also enable users to import their news feed, send instant messages, comment, and “like” all within Skype.

Anyway this approach does away with a traditional barrier to the growth and adoption of software-based services, on both the Web and the desktop–the need to install and maintain software.

Skype 5.3 for Windows includes HD video calls, group video calls with up to five participants, and a new audio codec called SILK. And that’s not all: Skype also allows screen sharing, phone-card like calling with Skype to Go, Wi-Fi access in airports and other public places. Facebook’s partnership with Skype shows that there’s a lot more to social networking than updating your status and sharing pictures.

Hope Zuckerberg realised that social networking market is too tough now a days. Google is all set with their new innovative Google plus with lots of features. So now Facebook is ready to shield the war and Microsoft is also with Facebook with its acquisition of Skype for $8.5 billion in May. So we can say this is a war between Google and Microsoft. Anyway it is the users only who are getting benefit out of this. That’s cool right?

Via eweek