VoIP spreads to Facebook

Facebook, the rapidly-expanding social network, has added a VoIP feature that allows users to connect and talk through the site.

In a newly-announced widget from VoIP operator Jangl, users of the social network can contact their Facebook friends without exchanging a real telephone number.

The Jangl application instead creates a private phone number for each relationship - giving users control over who can talk to them.

Michael Cerda, chief executive and co-founder of Jangl, said: "For the last year, Jangl has been giving social networks a voice through our widgets and partnered products.

"And with our latest release of Jangl ... people online can now connect with anyone, anywhere by simply entering an email address."

Facebook's 24 million active users will be able to send an invitation to talk to another person in their network, who then can click on a link to hear the person talk before deciding they want to chat.

The expansion to Facebook is an upgrade of the service that Jangl offers to dating site Match.com and lets users make calls using their VoIP client, internet-ready mobile phone or landline.