As the economy sinks, the Voice over IP outfit Skype is seeing a surge of new users.

According to Scott Durchslag, the company's chief operating officer said that the surge is because punters are desperate to cut their phone bills. People feel they can get value and quality without making a huge trade off," he said. Skype is looking at getting more interest from the business market too, and Durchslag said that companies were coming to it looking for packages.

Owned by eBay, Skype offers downloadable software that allows people to make free calls to other Skype users and low-cost calls to cell phones and regular phones. The service also offers free video chat. Durchslag said the company has 370 million registered users and is adding about 30 million subscribers a quarter.