A new beta version of Skype for Windows, which supports videoconferencing for up to 10 users, has been released. The new version, Skype 5.0 beta 2.0, follows the service's 5.0 beta 1 that was launched in May. The earlier version allowed videoconferencing for six participants, bringing multi-party video to Skype for the first time.

Peter Parkes, the company's blogger-in chief, said: "The second beta of Skype 5.0 brings a number of changes both outside and in...It welcomes in a fresh new look, as well as increased stability and better quality when making group video calls... We've also added Skype Home, where you can follow your contacts' mood messages, set your profile picture and mood message, receive account notifications and learn more about using Skype."

Parkes added that a number of bugs have been fixed and that call quality had been improved. "This version also includes automatic call recovery, which should help automatically reconnect Skype calls that are interrupted due to network problems."

Skype promised to introduce videoconferencing support for the Mac when the first beta was released. However, the company did not provide further news on the matter.