Nov 1997 More than 500,000 people have already made telephone calls on the Internet, using microphones and loudspeakers installed as part of multimedia.
Sound quality is variable and set-up can be hard.
It is best for use on a pre-arranged basis. An advantage over conventional phone is ability to share documents and pictures - worked on by both simultaneously. Time consuming to set up, but relatively easy to use. CU-SEE ME technology has revolutionised videoconferencing on the net. I have taken part in eight way video-conferences on the Internet using a 28.8kbps modem.