• CNet et al., Wednesday, August 25, 2010 2:58 PM

And for Google's next trick... CNet is reporting that the search giant could soon turn Gmail into a formidable communications hub by adding the ability to make phone calls from its Google Chat interface.

"Google is testing a Web-based service within Gmail that will allow users to place phone calls from their in-boxes," CNet reports. "It's launched from the Google Chat window on the lower left-hand side of a Gmail page and allows users to place and receive calls from within their contacts through a user interface that strongly resembles the one used in Google Voice."

Voice communication is hardly new for Google, which debuted its Talk service years ago as a voice over Internet Protocol desktop client, and has seriously promoted Google Voice -- a service that transcribes voice mails and allows users to have one phone number that rings multiple phones.

Under the headline, "Google Voice to become Skype-killer tomorrow?" Fortune notes: "Google bought former Skype VoIP and video over IP supplier Global IP Solutions earlier this year for $68 million and last year purchased VoIP provider Gizmo5, after a sale to Skype was sidelined ... They have the ability to do something very big in this space."

"I use Google Voice as my primary phone number, and, when I'm at my desk, I send and receive calls using Skype," writes Computerworld's Mitch Wagner. "It's been a bit of a kludge getting Google Voice and Skype to integrate, and I'm still not 100% satisfied; I'd love it if this new Gmail voice product integrated with Google Voice."

Adds The Tech Report's Cyril Kowaliski: "I'd certainly welcome a solid, easy-to-use alternative to Skype for cheap international calling. Skype does have the benefit of running on smart phones (namely Android devices and the iPhone), so Google would need a similar app for me to make the switch."

"The problem, however," notes The Next Web, "is that CNET doesn't give any sort of indication about where it might have learned this information. For now, we'll still chalk it up to the rumor mill, but one that has some pretty big proof hanging out at the bottom, just waiting to be pulled up."

Read the whole story at CNet et al. »