Stand by your headsets, cash-savvy chatter-fans - a Skype Gift Day is coming to a computer near you next Tuesday, 18 July.

Now, don't get carried away. Skype Gift Days do not involve pitching up at a secret location and saying "I'll take the diamante webcam and the cuddly toy, please." They're much better than that, because you don't have to leave the house to get your freebie. Just log into your Skype account and claim 10 minutes of free SkypeOut calling. The offer starts at 7am on the 18th and runs for 24 hours.

Ah, I can hear it already... 10 minutes of free SkypeOut? But isn't Skype free already?

Skype would indeed be free all the time if everyone in the world had Skype, from your boss to your Aunty Dotty in Whitby. But not everyone does, so SkypeOut offers a cheap-as-chips way to make calls from Skype to olde worlde landlines and mobile phones. You get to call anyone, anywhere in the world, at local rates.

And for those magic 10 minutes, you can ring any of those olden days telephonic devices for absolutely nowt. Forget Auntie Dotty in Whitby - ring your backpacking mate in New Zealand instead. (Just let him think you're generous enough to pay for the call.)

See Share Skype, run by Skype blogfather Jaanus, for an international list of July's Skype Gift Days. And stay tuned to this blog for news of August's freebies.