SAN JOSE, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Sep 4, 2008 -- Skype, the worldwide leader in Internet communications, provides the more than 223,000 students studying abroad* the means to connect with anyone, anywhere while sticking to a budget. According to the University of Minnesota Learning Abroad Center, students studying abroad spend up to $32,921 over the course of the semester on tuition, travel, food, entertainment, and communication expenses. Whether abroad or stateside, students and their families can use Skype to stay in touch without breaking the bank.

Skype is software students, families, and businesses can download to make free voice and video calls to other Skype users anywhere in the world. Students studying abroad can virtually see their friends and family back home for free using webcams such as the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000.

"Skype offers students traveling around the world the opportunity to share their experiences with loved ones for little to no cost," said Don Albert, general manager and vice president, Skype North America. "With the money saved using Skype, students can make their stays abroad slightly more luxurious by splurging on a hotel or a fancy meal, or upgrading to a business class ticket."

For the first time, Skype now offers a single, monthly flat rate subscription for unlimited calling to 36 countries worldwide**. For only $9.95/month, students can call family and friends or make travel arrangements -- any time of the day, any day of the week.

In addition to unlimited calling, the subscription also includes a Skype To Go number, which lets users make international calls at local rates from a cell phone or landline. A student studying in Florence, Italy, for example, can dial an assigned access number to call his parents or best friend back home in New York.

After returning stateside, students can continue to connect with friends and family by subscribing to Skype's subscription for unlimited calls to cell phones and landlines in the U.S. and Canada for only $2.95/month.

For full details on Skype's calling subscriptions, visit http://www.skype.com/allfeatures/subscriptions/#uscaSubscriptionTab.

Further, students studying abroad do not have to be tied to a computer in order to use Skype. They can eliminate packing a heavy laptop by toting products such as the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet or Sony PSP which allow users to make calls via open Wi-Fi hotspots.

*According to the 2007 Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange.

**Subject to Skype's fair usage policy. Up to 10,000 calling minutes per month. Calls to the US, Canada, China, Hong Kong or Singapore include both landlines and cell phones. Calls to other countries include landlines only.

About Skype

Millions of people every day use Skype software to communicate with others through free voice and video calls, as well as instant messages. Skype's 338 million registered users have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Many people also use SkypeOut or one of our global subscriptions to save money when calling landlines and mobiles at home and abroad. No longer bound to the computer, Skype conversations can also be had on a broad range of cordless handsets, mobile devices and other Skype Certified hardware. And even when you're fluent in Skype, there is always more to discover: hundreds of third-party developers have created software plug-ins to make Skype even more useful. All of this makes Skype the leading global internet communications company.

Skype is an eBay company (NasdaqGS:EBAY - News), and you can learn more and get Skype at www.skype.com.

Make your world a smaller place: talk, share and do more with Skype.

Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used for emergency calling.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the "S" symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.

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     Sara Schoenborn
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