Go Ahead--Reach Out and Gab to Someone

By Jeffrey Ressner

Depending on your long-distance provider, that stranger with the thick accent may not be a telemarketer or a prank caller. Skype, whose software lets users make free phone calls over the Internet, has become the hot download among young Asians--with 45,000 new Chinese users signing on each day. And many of them are practicing their English by making random calls to fellow Skype users in the U.S. The company, which has 66 million registered subscribers in more than 200 countries, includes language preferences in every user's profile, and last year started offering a "Skype Me" mode that encourages calls from strangers. "It's an area that, frankly, surprised us," says Skype's global-marketing executive, Saul Klein. "People are becoming voice pals instead of pen pals."

Although there's no way to keep track of how many native Chinese speakers are using Skype to chat with people in the U.S., informal surveys suggest a high degree of cold-calling between the two countries, each of which has 5 million subscribers. Skype, which has been acquired by eBay, is looking into adding translation services as a possible pay feature in 2006. Last week it released a long-awaited 2.0 edition that enables users to plug in their Web cameras and make free video calls. But one country refuses to get caught up in all the chatter. North Korea remains steadfastly Skype-free, which means Kim Jong Il won't have to worry about any callers catching him on a bad hair day.