UK Provider Unveils Skype Mobile Phone

British mobile phone provider "3" is unveiling a handset which lets users make free calls over the Net using Skype. The phone won't let you use Skype to make cheap calls to any phone number, like you could over the Internet, but still represents a new level of availability for the service. "Skype has now taken a giant step forward in the mobile arena," chief executive Michael van Swaaij tells the BBC.

Skype has nearly 250 million users worldwide, but until now phone companies have shied away from incorporating the service for fear of losing business. The Skype phone will be launched in Britain, Australia, Denmark, Italy, and Hong Kong, the BBC reports. "Mobile has the potential to massively increase access to internet calling." says 3 UK chief Kevin Russell. (More Skype stories.)