Gmail, Google's extremely popular email service, has recently been gaining new features like voice and video chat.  Today Google added another component to the Gmail experience: the ability to make phone calls directly from Gmail.  The service allows users to make calls using Google Voice without having to leave their Gmail session or open another window.  The best part of all of this?  Calls made to U.S. and Canadian phone numbers, including landlines, are completely free of charge (for "at least the rest of the year").  International calls aren't free but, when demoing the service, Google made a call to Paris for $0.02 a minute.  Google Voice in Gmail is going live for U.S. within the next few days.  Google will also be rolling out red Google Voice phone booths in college campuses, airports, and some other locales so that users can give Voice a shot.

This is huge news from Google, especially since don't need a headset or anything like that to make a phone call.  Google Voice has been attracting all kinds of new users since the service was made available to the public, and now I'm sure interest is going to grow even more.  Even if you don't plan on making a drastic move like making Voice your main method for making and receiving phone calls, the service is definitely worth a look.  Have any of you seen Google Voice baked into your Gmail yet?

Via Google