Skype today launched to the public 'Skype in the workspace' (SITW), a new online platform for small businesses to instantly connect with potential customers, partners and suppliers across the globe.

The tool makes use of the huge network already offered by Skype, allowing small businesses to promote their products and services to new networks and connections. Users can establish new connections by instantly sending messages and talking to or meeting face-to-face with peers and business prospects over Skype.

The SITW community is already active because today's launch comes at the end of a six-month beta trial, which enabled 500 businesses, offering more than 140 different services, to sign up, try out and test the platform.

"We aim to connect millions of small businesses with Skype in the workspace and believe that, by taking advantage of this shared network, businesses can develop the range of tools they need to grow, regardless of location or industry," said Ural Cebeci, head of SMB Marketing at Skype.

Users join the community using their existing Skype accounts, then through a series of promotional tools can create public "offers" or "opportunities" inviting community members to live sessions on Skype to demonstrate services or products to a wider audience.

SITW is available to all Skype users starting today.