Microsoft is giving people another reason to use its new OUtlook.com email service: an integration with popular videoconferencing service Skype.
Outlook.com group product manager Dawn Martynuik said the feature has been initially rolled out in the UK, Germany, Brazil, France, Canada, and the US.
"We believe that your email should work with things you already use. Outlook.com already connects with your Facebook, Skype, and Google friends. Now that you can make Skype video calls from Outlook.com, it's even easier to stay connected to the people you care about most," Martynuik said ina blog post.
Martynuik cited a recent Ipsos Public Affairs poll showing 76 percent of people may follow up email conversations with a phone or video call.
To mark the availability of Skype for Outlook.com in the US, Martynuik said Microsoft is partnering with food expert Gail Simmons for a contest.
Participants can submit a recipe for a chance to make a video call with Simmons using Skype for Outlook.com.
"For every entry Outlook.com will donate $10 to Common Threads, a charity that promotes healthy eating with kids--and if the entry comes from an Outlook.com account, we'll donate $20!" Martynuik said.
A separate article on PC World said Microsoft plans to offer the Skype-Outlook.com integration worldwide “in the near future.”
"Microsoft is pursuing this integration because email exchanges are often escalated to audio and video communications, so bridging the interface gap between Outlook.com and Skype makes sense, the company said," PC World said.
On the other hand, PC World also noted Outlook.com already has links with Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter.
