The Luxembourg-based company, which is still 30% owned by online auction house eBay Inc, also announced its first advertisers: Groupon Inc, Nokia Corp, Comcast Corp's Universal Pictures and Visa Inc.
Skype said its platform, with 145 million users a month and 29 million at peak times, is attractive for brands to market their products. The platform will support large-format, rich interactive ads.
Display ads can also feature a "Click & Call" button so users can act on impulse. Ads can be shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Skype said it is partnering with advertising sales companies such as Meebo in the United States, Ad2One in Britain, and Stroer Interactive in Germany. - AP
