We've got a new word in our family dictionary, "to skype", as in: "we can skype this evening", or "I'll skype you now".

The ugly word stands for a little piece of software called Skype, which allows computer users to make calls over the internet using "peer-to-peer" technology.

The beauty of it: the software is free, the sound quality of calls is outstanding, and if the other party has Skype as well, calls to the other end of the world won't cost a penny.

I use Skype mainly to call my parents, who don't live in the UK. Every three months I used to get a painful reminder of the distance between us, when British Telecom sent me my quarterly phone bill.

But half a year ago we downloaded and installed Skype at my computer and that of my parents, and our phone bills have been slashed.