Facebook has upped the ante in the battle of the social networks by partnering with Microsoft's newly-acquired video calling service Skype, as Google rolls out its new social network.
Facebook announced it will introduce video calling in partnership with Skype, a week after Google unveiled details of Google+, the search giant's third attempt at launching a successful social networking service. Google+ also includes video calling.
Also shadowing Google's announcement is the news Facebook will introduce group chatting, which it said has been in high demand from its users. Google+ will also feature instant group messaging. Google+ is currently in field trial mode, accessible only to invited users.
Facebook 's new features will be rolled-out to everyone in the coming weeks, but keen users can download the video calling feature now. Video calling will be available in 70 languages.
The details were unveiled in a post on Facebook's official blog, where it's stated the site started working with Skype several months ago on the venture.
In May, Microsoft bought Skype for $US8.5 billion.
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