Peer-to-peer VoIP service provider Skype said it will open the IM part of its platform to outside developers. The move will allow outsiders to incorporate Skype's IM app, Skype Instant Messenger, into websites and other Internet-based applications. As a part of the move, Skype launched two developer tools, SkypeWeb and SkypeNet. Skype claims 51 million registered user names, almost twice as many as Yahoo's instant messenger and six times that of AOL. The move, however, does not open up Skype's Internet telephony functions to outside developers. Skype is a member of the 2005 FierceWireless Fierce 15, an annual list of the top emerging wireless companies.
For more on Skype's open IM initiative:
- go to this article from CNET