Google introduces Gmail-linked phone service

Google offered consumers another reason to ditch their traditional landlines by unveiling a service that lets them make free phone calls through its popular e-mail program. Google is allowing U.S. users to place free calls domestically and to Canada through its Web-based Gmail service, using their computer's built-in speaker and microphone, or a headset. It's the latest in a series of additions to Gmail that are increasingly transforming the service into an all-in-one communications tool where people can manage contacts, e-mail, chats, video conferencing and now phone calls.