New Google service: voice calls from Google Chat?

Google is said to introduce a new online service that would allow users to place and receive voice calls through the Google Chat interface. As Google has an announcement scheduled for Wednesday, this service might be launched sooner than we all expect.

The new service’s interface is said to be similar to Google Voice’s – the icons for placed and missed calls, as well as that for the voice mail are similar. The new service (it does not have a name yet) is probably going to be integrated with an existing Google Voice account, as it does not provide a Google Voice phone number for receiving calls.

Google has been preparing for such a service for some time now. Google Talk is the company’s desktop Voice over IP client, and Voice is a service that allows you to receive voice mails in your inbox or receive calls on multiple phone numbers. The new service, though, sounds more like a web-based VoIP client, a welcome addition to the services that can make the Chrome OS a viable choice for many internet users.

Google Voice might be changing when the new service will be launched, but it might be a completely separate thing. The user interface is said to be similar as far as the icons are concerned, but it could be a simple recycling of the graphics – for Google Voice is not a VoIP service.