Facebook launches video chat with Skype

PALO ALTO: Facebook will add Skype video chat to its pages, aiming to spice up the appeal of the world's number one internet social networking service while fending off increased competition from Google.

The agreement, announced by Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg at the company's Palo Alto, California, headquarters on Wednesday, deepens the company's cooperation with Microsoft Corp, which is in the process of buying Skype to build up its web presence.

Zuckerberg said Facebook has hit a record 750 million users. The new service, rolling out from Wednesday, could be a huge boost for Skype, which currently has about 145 million regular users.

The partnership comes as competition heats up in the Internet market, with Facebook and Google, as well as fast-growing companies such as Groupon and Twitter, vying for billions of dollars in online advertising revenue.