Even before Skype revealed a deep Facebook integration last month, there was speculation that Facebook might add Skype video chat functionality within the social networking site.

Although that hasn't happened yet, Facebook application developer Tal Ater has rekindled speculation around the idea in spotting a "VideoChat" object in Facebook's code.

Interestingly enough, the code has several properties that refer to Skype and Skype user IDs. Ater also postulates that Facebook is testing the feature with a select group of users as the code doesn't appear every time the page is loaded.

In some ways, Skype's Facebook integration — which includes a Facebook tab that enables users to chat, SMS or call their Facebook friends on Skype — only left Facebook users wondering when Facebook integration with Skype video chat might arrive. But with the code referencing Skype user IDs, it might suggest that Facebook is building its own video chat that enables Facebook users to also video chat with their Skype contacts.

After all, Facebook's new messaging system is an attempt to make communication more seamless and synchronized across multiple platforms. It may very well be that video chat will be added to the mix or that Facebook is at least considering a Skype integration. However, similar code was spotted all the way back in May 2009 and Facebook responded by saying it was testing such a feature but had no plans to launch it to users. The question of Facebook and video chat functionality seems less of an "if," but more of a "when."







Image courtesy of Tal Ater.