This holiday season, keeping in touch with the loved ones, seeing and talking to them seems to be as important as sharing gifts and cards. But a lot people are out of home these days, so they may be missing out on something essential. Skype is addressing this problem by offering travelers in airports across the U.S. a great opportunity to connect with their family and friends for free. The Internet phone service, which was acquired by Microsoft in May, is now offering a free hour of Internet access to third-party wireless hotspots within the Skype WiFi hotspot area in 50 airports in the U.S., so that travelers could see and hear their loved ones between flights.

Facebook‘s founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the new video call feature to be rolled out in a couple of weeks. Users will be able to make free video calls to their friends through the site as a result of Facebook’s partnership with the web telephony service Skype. So, now two of the web’s most popular consumer services will be available all in one and with one click. 

Google wants to become the king of the social networking world and makes a huge step towards this goal. The Internet giant which has recently introduced the +1 button globally, launched the Google+ project created to “bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software” and “make Google better by including you, your relationships, and your interests.” The new network, which is now not open for free registration (at this stage, users can join in only by invitations), is running in test mode and has some ‘rough edges,’ which are sure to be fixed over some time. The Google + includes a range of services, allowing people connect with their friends online, and is good just for every social-related activity performed online.

For the first time in its history, a VoIP solution provider Skype launches advertising module integrated in its software. The ads to be published in Skype will feature multimedia functionality and include video, audio and the ability to call the advertiser as well as integration with the most popular social media websites. According to adrants.com, the size of the homepage ad will measure 650 X 170 and will expand to 650 X 340.