-Skype delivers deeper Facebook integration-

Skype is bringing several new Facebook features to its voice over IP service.

Windows users who download the new Skype 5.5 Beta version will now be able to instant message with Facebook friends. According to the VoIP provider, the beta's users can also "like" and comment on a friend's Facebook status. A new Facebook Contacts tab has been added to Skype to help users more easily find and communicate with their friends on the social network.

Skype integrated Facebook in version 5.0 of its software last year, allowing users to check out their news feed and update their status. Prior to that announcement, AllThingsD reported that Facebook and Skype were working on a "significant and wide-ranging partnership" that would make Skype far more social than it had been in the past.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced that Facebook was considering acquiring Skype. Not long after those rumors surfaced, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. The Federal Trade Commission recently approved the deal, paving the way for the U.S. Justice Department to file its opinion. If all goes well, the VoIP provider will become the Microsoft Skype Division under the leadership of its current CEO Tony Bates.