Users of Sony's PlayStation Portable game console can soon make free Skype internet phone calls under a deal struck between the two companies, a news report, quoted by Reuters, said.
The Reuters report said Sony Computer Entertainment and Skype Technologies will launch the service this month on the PSP's latest model released in September, according to a report in the business daily, Nikkei.
The new service enables free online calls between PSP owners and personal computer users, the Nikkei said.
PSP owners can also sign up for a fee-based Skype service that gives them a dedicated phone number for making and receiving phone calls. That service is expected to cost 2,250 yen ($20.60) for three months, the report said.
Users need to download Skype software to their PSPs, and get a microphone designed specifically for online chats and internet phone calls, the report said.
Phones at Sony's headquarters in Tokyo went unanswered.