Windows Live Messenger launches public beta
Microsoft has launched a public beta of Windows Live Messenger, an instant-messaging program that features international PC-to-telephone calls with video capability.
As part of the beta, Uniden and Royal Philips Electronics will sell cordless phones that work with the service, allowing people to make both Messenger-based and landline phone calls from the handset.
The PC-to-phone feature makes local and international calls through a Verizon Internet telephony service that has been expanded to include Austria, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy and the Netherlands. Called Verizon Web Calling, the service previously covered only the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Spain.
