New Skype 3.0 Features Interactive Ask Engine as Add-on

Customers of the Skype Internet telephone service will have a new search feature, courtesy of the Jyve add-on for Skype 3.0.

Jyve, described by its creators as a live "Ask" engine, is a featured "Extra" for Skype users, Jyve officials said. With Jyve, users can connect with people around the world via the Internet to share questions and answers in real time. Faster and more targeted than using automated Web searches, Jyve brings the volumes of information stored in peoples minds online through free Internet Skype communications, company officials said.

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"With live conversations, Jyve lets askers get the exact information they need, or tips on where to find it, from people all over the world, without digging through search results or checking back to see if someone has posted an answer hours later," Jyve founder Charles Carleton said in a statement. "Using Skype with Jyve can save people so much time and money that many are making Jyve their first stop when they need to know something, or to source a professional right away."

Jyve allows members to "tag" topics of interest to converse about and create professional listings describing products and services they can provide and support.

Paul Amery, director of the developer program at Skype, said the company has been working to enable Skype as a distribution platform for third-party applications for some time. "Extras will also help generate new usage and users for Skype and software partners," he said in the same statement. "We are really interested in seeing how our users take advantage of this feature."

Skype users can download the Jyve plug-in on the Skype Web site.

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