Make Video Calls to Anyone, Any Where, For Free

Imagine talking face-to-face to anyone in the world on your computer, and the best part - it doesn't cost you a dime.

It's called Skype, a computer program that lets you have a video conversation with any Skype user, any where.

Skype had 405 million registered users at the end of last year. Many people first heard of it after shows like Oprah and The Today Show starting using it on TV.

Many Skype users are taking advantage of its most popular feature - free video calling.

"It's a face to face meeting so you can talk to them and see their reactions real time," says Amy Landers, who's has been using Skype for the past two months to talk with friends and family around the country.

Her brother Terry in New York suggested she try it, and now the siblings talk once or twice a week.

"It's been terrific. We've been away from New York about 4 years now, and it's been a great chance for my family back in New York to see my kids. That's the most important thing to me," says Landers.

"It's been absolutely fantastic. It makes me realize how much I'm missing. It's hard to talk to kids on the phone, but they're interested in the camera. They're interested in talking and showing me their new pajamas or their new toys," says her brother Terry Brown-Steiner, who lives in Rochester, New York.

The siblings say the price is just right.

"It's very easy to do. I mean I'm not computer savvy, and I was able to do it. I help my sister in Boston set up her new webcam, and the greatest thing is that it's all free," says Landers.

Setting up Skype is a simple and only takes a few minutes. All you need is a computer with a broadband internet connection and a webcam. You can buy a webcam on eBay for as little as $10. Just go to www.skype.com, fill out the online registration and download the program. Then find other Skype users you know, and start chatting.

Landers's five children enjoy the video calls and the live chat too.

"It was really cool and stuff like that, because I got to talk to them and see them, and they got to see us and it was really great," says 11 year-old Jeni.

The technology is making it possible for family members far away to reconnect.

"This is like the 1970's Star Trek show. We're looking at a flat panel screen and having instantaneous communication with someone, you know, 900 miles away. It's fantastic and I never would've seen it coming," says Brown-Steiner.

If you don't have a webcam, you can still use Skype with a microphone and speakers to make free voice calls to other Skype users on your computer.

Skype also recently launched an for iPhone that had one million downloads in the first 36 hours.