Facebook Launches Skype-Powered Video Calling

Facebook has just announced a major new feature that it’s launching in tandem with Skype: video calling. It’s a feature that’s been rumored for quite a while, and it’s one that Facebook is putting a lot of weight behind.

Facebook Launches Video Calling

Now, whenever you browse to a friend’s profile, you’ll see a new button nestled between the ‘Message’ and ‘Poke’ buttons that says ‘Call’. Click that, the other user will see a popup asking if they want to accept a call, and you’ll be immediately connected (you’ll need to install a small plugin the first time you use the service).

You’ll also see video calling integrated into Facebook’s Chat product. Really, you can’t miss it — Facebook is launching a new chat sidebar that by default it takes the entire right side of the screen, and the first time you click on any user you’ll see a prompt asking if you’d like to make your first video call. If you try to initiate a video call and the other user doesn’t respond, you’ll be prompted to send them a video message.