Wiped out the kitty over Christmas? Here's an easy way to top up your Skype credit without handing over any cash: add a Skype banner to your website, and collect credit every time someone clicks the banner.

This Skype affiliate scheme is outlined in full here, but it's pretty simple. Skype hosts the banners and pays for the bandwith; all you do is choose your favourite banner from the range of Flash and Gif banners available (there's even a simple text link if you prefer the lo-fi approach), copy/paste the code into your site's own HTML and wait for the clicks to come in. Every time someone clicks your banner, Skype's site opens in a new window.

Skype will regularly add new deisgns to the banners page, so it's worth checking back now and then to see if a new one takes your fancy.