Video conferencing inside Gmail
Google said Tuesday it will roll out a video chat feature inside Gmail in the next couple days that will bring it face to face with eBay’s popular Skype Internet calling service.
The Internet search giant said in a blog entry that as Webcams have become more widely installed on PCs video conversations are the obvious next step for e-mail service Gmail. The integrated voice and video service will be free, though it will require downloading a browser plug-in.
A new “Video & more” menu will appear in Gmail and let people hold video conferences with one another in a small window and enlarge the window to the full screen. Employees of the company in the U.S. and Sweden have been testing the system.
The company said the service will be available for PCs and Macs and will be available in the “next day or so.” It did not say whether “Video & more” would remain in beta.
Jean-Baptiste Su
Mark Boslet
