Last week, Yandex, the Russian company that dominates the domestic search market, announced a partnership with Skype to promote their respective services among their users, news agency RIA Novosti reported. Users dowloading Skype software will be prompted to install a Yandex search bar add-on on their web browser and make Yandex their default search engine.
The Yandex Bar will include a Skype button that allows Skype users to replenish their account for paid services using ‘Yandex.Money’, the electronic currency of Yandex.
Last December, there were 22.4 million Skype users in Russia, a 41% increase from December 2010, according to ComScore. Among Skype’s competitors on the Russian market are QIP, with over 5 million users, and Sipnet, which focuses on corporate clients. A few months ago, Mail.ru Group, a leading Internet player, announced plans to launch its own VoIP product on the market.
At the same time, Google started to unofficially promote its Google Voice service among Russian users, Russian business daily Vedomosti reported.
