Luxembourg, May 5, 2008 - Skype today launches 'The Skype Nomad', an ambitious attempt to create a live, worldwide, human demonstration of how Skype can now be used anywhere and on the move.
Skype has recruited Australian writer Rebecca Campbell as 'The Nomad', to embark on a 33 day round-the-world trip across 15 countries including China, Australia, the US (including the state of Alaska), Italy and Estonia. The twist is that she must remain in perpetual motion for her entire journey - always moving, even when she's sleeping.
She will also need to use as many forms of transport as possible to complete her journey, from planes, trains and automobiles to hot air balloons, dog sleds and bumboats.
The Nomad will share her trip live on the internet as she travels, using a variety of Skype-enabled gadgets from 3 Skypephone to the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. Her blog will include the latest queue-jumping tips, how to keep moving when waiting to board an aircraft or when stuck in a traffic jam.
The web community will also be able to share her journey on her blog www.skype.com/go/nomad or her Facebook or MySpace pages. They will also be able to get in touch with Rebecca on Skype (Skypename: 'theskypenomad') and give her inside information on the countries she is visiting.
"This is a great way to show people how easy it is to use Skype wherever they happen to be," said Malthe Sigurdsson, Skype's creative director. "Our Nomad has to keep moving for a long time. The only downtime she will have is when she's on a flight or some form of transport that keeps her moving."
"I'm really excited about the trip but I'm sure it will be hard to keep moving," said Rebecca Campbell, The Skype Nomad. "The great thing is I have a whole online community to rely on who can guide me to make the right decisions on what I eat and how I keep moving in any of the 15 countries I'll be in. I am sure I'll need a holiday afterwards! Travelling can be a bit lonely but with Skype, I know I can stay in touch with my friends and family for free or very little and that's very reassuring."
Skype is known for having registered over 309 million users without using any traditional advertising. Skype Nomad continues the idea of using more innovative communications to demonstrate its unique product. Nomad will be the world's longest product demonstration.
For this challenge, Skype has teamed up with international disability and development charity Motivation, which works in low-income countries to enhance the quality of life of people with mobility disabilities. Skype will be making a donation to the charity and in addition further donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/Skypenomad.
About Skype
Millions of people every day use Skype to communicate with others through free voice and video calls, as well as instant messages. Skype's 309 million registered users have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Many people also use SkypeOut™ or one of our global subscriptions to save money when calling landlines and mobiles at home and abroad. No longer bound to the computer, Skype conversations can also be had on a broad range of cordless handsets, mobile devices and other Skype Certified™ hardware. We've made it easy for Skype users to list and recommend their favourite local businesses to the rest of the community with SkypeFind. And even when you're fluent in using Skype, there is always more to discover: hundreds of third-party developers have created software plug-ins that make Skype even more useful. All of this makes Skype the leading global internet communications company.
Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY), and you can learn more and get Skype at www.skype.com.
Access to a broadband Internet connection is required for Skype and all Skype Certified devices and accessories. Skype is not a replacement for your traditional telephone service and cannot be used for emergency calling.
Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the "S" symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.
