Facebook friends are finally about to meet face to face.
The social networking giant has plans for an “awesome” unveiling today, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is expected to announce a partnership with Skype, the Internet video calling company.
Facebook is not saying until the big reveal today exactly what is in store, but sources close to the companies say a Skype partnership is inevitable. The union would bring video-chat capabilities through Facebook, allowing multiple friends to talk at the same time.
Video chatting is one of the few social networking features lacking in Facebook, an omission that has become even more glaring since Google launched an application called Hangouts.
Last week, the search giant unveiled Google +, a Facebook clone designed to play catch up in the social network space. Hangouts, a feature within Google +, has received some positive feedback for making video calls easy.
Facebook is feeling the pressure from Google’s latest social networking effort, which prompted today’s big announcement, according to some industry observers.
Representatives for Skype said they would not comment on “rumors” of a Facebook partnership.
A number of reports yesterday said that today’s Facebook show could take another direction and might be a showcase for new software, including potentially a new Facebook iPad app.
However, Facebook was not ready to reveal a new music partnership with the likes of Spotify, as has been rumored, a music industry source said.
Skype has been on a roll of late, introducing updates and new deals across multiple platforms.
When Microsoft agreed to buy Skype in May for $8.5 billion, there was some fear that a heavy corporate hand would stifle the growth of the Internet calling company.
However, Skype was just upgraded for Apple’s Mac computers and Google’s Android phones, products from Microsoft’s two biggest rivals. gsloane@nypost.com