Google to extend free ‘Call phones from Gmail’ through 2013

Google is extending for another year the free calling feature available to Gmail users in the U.S. and Canada.

The Mountain View, Calif., company launched the “Call phones from Gmail” service in 2010.

“Many of you [use] Call phones from Gmail to easily connect with friends and family. If you’re in the U.S. and Canada, you’ll continue to be able to make free domestic calls through 2013. Plus, in most countries, you can still call the rest of the world from Gmail at insanely low rates,” Google said in a brief blog.

QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge

The “Call phones from Gmail” feature lets users make and receive phones using their computer when they are logged into their Gmail account.

If you haven’t set up the feature yourself, you can do so by signing up to try it.

Once you’ve set up the feature, you can use it by pressing the phone icon that appears at the bottom left of the Gmail.com website. Click on it and a dial pad will appear on the bottom right that you can use to make a phone call using the computer’s microphone and speakers.

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