Social networking leader Facebook is adding Skype video chat to its pages in a move to boost up its appeal while at the same time preparing to diminish competition from Google.

Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the agreement which strengthens the relationship between Facebook and Microsoft Corp who is in the process of acquiring Skype.

Zuckerberg said Facebook has hit a record 750 million users. The new service, rolling out from Wednesday, could be a huge boost for Skype, which currently has about 145 million regular users.

Skype service on Facebook will initially limit to one-to-one video chat and will be available for free. No financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

Tony Bates, Skype's chief executive, said Wednesday's deal with Facebook is only the start of a potentially lucrative partnership.

Meantime, Neil Stevens, the general manager of Skype's consumer business, said the company was planning on introducing a for-pay service that would allow users on Facebook to place calls to landline and mobile phones.

Stevens said he could not provide a timeframe for when such a service might be available, and said details about whether the service would work with Facebook's so-called Credits currency had yet to be worked out