From today until the next Tuesday, the 8th of May, you can send half price text messages using Skype to the following countries:

• Austria
• Australia
• Belgium
• Ireland
• Italy
• Poland
• Russia
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• United States

Sending a text to Ireland, for example, will cost less than 3.6p — a perfect excuse to get in touch with all those far-flung friends and family members over the bank holiday weekend.

To start sending SMS from Skype, you need Skype Credit. Once you’ve got some of that, you’re all set to go.

Update: The guys over at Digital Lifestyles point out that as well as being cheap, using Skype to send texts mean that you get to use a full size keyboard. Good point

Hint: For most countries, you can even set up Skype so that their replies go straight back to your mobile, so that you can hear from them wherever you are.

To do this, you will need to validate your mobile number by going to the Skype software and click on Tools > Options > SMS Messages and following the steps described. When you complete these steps, you will receive a text with a verification code. Enter this code in Skype to validate your mobile.