Skype, beware: Yahoo Messenger with Voice is here

Yahoo has released a new version of its Messenger service, this one with Voice capability. It means that Yahoo has become a direct competitor to VoIP industry leader Skype.

Download the free Yahoo Messenger and you can not only IM and share files but also enter into voice chats with other users, or, using the “Phone Out” function, anyone who picks up the phone on the other end.

You’ll need a set of headphones to successfully use this VoIP functionality, and Plantronics is leading the charge to provide you with those headphones. (Yahoo-related handsets can’t be far behind.) Add to this the fact that Yahoo is promising rates that are lower than what Skype is currently charging ,and audio sound quality that is as good as Skype’s or better, we may just have a worthy competitor to the VoIP leader.