Google has revealed that it is to integrate VoIP functionality into its Gmail webmail service, allowing people to make free calls online from their accounts.
The service will allow for free phone calls to be made within the US and Canada, while calls to the UK, France, Germany, China will cost two cents (1.2p) a minute.
Previously, users were able to voice chat through Gmail so long as both were signed into the service.
However, the company said on its blog: "Given that most of us don't spend all day in front of our computers, we thought: 'Wouldn't it be nice if you could call people directly on their phones?'"
Users in the US who have a Google Voice phone number will be able to instruct Gmail to display this number as their outbound caller ID.
It will also be possible to receive calls made to this number directly in Gmail.
The new service is set to be rolled out over the next few days across the US, with Google also working to launch it "more broadly" shortly.
Google Voice is a service that was launched in the US last year and allows users to choose a US phone number, free of charge, which calls to other numbers can be forwarded to.
