Skype now becomes a new business division within Microsoft. Skype Chief Executive Tony Bates assumes the title of president of the Skype division and will report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Skype is expected to support Microsoft devices, including the Xbox, Kinect, Windows Phone and other Windows devices, and Microsoft will integrate Skype with its services such as Lync, Outlook and Xbox Live.

The Skype division will continue to offer its current products to millions of users globally, according to a Microsoft news release.

“Microsoft and Skype will remain focused on their shared goal of connecting all people across all devices and accelerating both companies’ efforts to transform real-time communications for consumers and enterprise customers,” the release said.

The release did not specify if the free Internet voice and video-calling features that Skype offers will continue to be free. It also did not specify how Skype will continue to work on non-Microsoft platforms, although Microsoft has said in the past it would invest in and support Skype clients on such platforms.

“Customers should not see any changes to their Skype experiences,” a Microsoft spokesman said.

In a video posted on both Microsoft’s and Skype’s official blogs, Bates talks about the merger, saying: “I’m sure in a lot of people’s minds post-merger is the simple question: Will the Skype experience change? The answer is an emphatic no. The value proposition of Skype is being multiplatform across different devices, whether it’s PCs, desktops, mobile phones, whether it’s in the living room. And that’s key and that must stay. We’re committed to that.”

But he did not specify in the video whether free and low-cost Skype services would remain that way. He did say in the news release that, together with Microsoft, “we will be able to accelerate Skype’s goal to reach 1 billion users daily.”

(MCT-The Seattle Times)