With internet usage reaching almost every country, and economic class, and with its permeation throughout the western world, applications designed to harness its potential in ever more practical ways are constantly arising. One such application is VoIP, which continues to challenge its own limitations...

With internet usage reaching almost every country, and economic class, and with its permeation throughout the western world, applications designed to harness its potential in ever more practical ways are constantly arising. One such application is Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), which continues to challenge its own limitations. There are a few leading players who are jostling for supremacy, including Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, Skype, and Vonage.

Recently, there have been many converts to Skype, including this reviewer. There are several factors that have influenced my own personal move, but my primary motivations were innovation, quality, and marketability.

VoIP has always been an application that is easily marketable, and Skype has added innovative features that are quality-rich:

- SkypeOut, where you can use your computer to call ordinary phone numbers all over the world. The global SkypeOut rate is currently 1.7 Euro Cent (about 2 US cents or 1.1 pence) per minute to more than 20 countries.

- SkypeIn, which is a virtual phone number your friends can call. This is in beta testing at the time of writing this review, but the 12-month subscription is available for