The big feature?  Voice chat rooms, a la the Yahoo chat of old. check out the official press release:

Skype 3.0 Beta Brings the Global Community Together

Latest Beta Version Includes the Introduction of New Chat Features to Inspire More Debate across the World

LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skype, the global Internet communications company, today released the latest version of its software, Skype™ 3.0 Beta for Windows. Skype users across the world can now enjoy even simpler and easier ways to talk to one another with new features that enable community-led chat and discussion.

Skype 3.0 beta also includes a series of enhancements to the ‘look and feel’ of Skype. These enhancements aim to make Skype even simpler to use and give users instant access to the features they need, when they need them.

“With every release of our software, we want to give people the freedom to explore the boundaries of conversation and make internet calling and ‘live’ online discussions the most natural thing in the world,” says Henry Gomez, Chief Marketing Officer & Director of Worldwide Operations, Skype.

“We’re introducing a number of new features with Skype 3.0 beta including Click-to-Call which lets users make calls to ordinary phone numbers when they are online. Click-to-call is so easy to use. For example, imagine you’re searching online for a good place to eat and you find a restaurant and want to make a reservation. All you need to do is click on the number and you can make a direct call using SkypeOut™,” concluded Gomez.

The new features and benefits of Skype 3.0 include:

Skypecasts™ and Public Chats which allow users to join in multi-person community conversations and discussions.
Click-to-call which lets users make calls to ordinary phone numbers with just one click when surfing different websites, using SkypeOut™.
A more powerful and personal user interface making it even easier to enjoy using Skype.
Skypecasts are now in beta and allow users to browse and join Skypecasts via a new ‘live’ window featured in Skype. Skypecasts are live, moderated discussions allowing groups of up to 100 people from anywhere in the world to talk to one another.

World-renown mystery author Michael Connelly participated in a Skypecast this September to promote his newest book, Echo Park. The U.K. is one of Connelly’s biggest markets, but no book tour stop was planned. Skypecasts allowed Connelly to hold a virtual book tour where he read an excerpt of his new book and answered questions from his fans about the book, as well as questions about the future of his popular character Detective Hieronymus Bosch, potential movies made from his books and his writing style.

The Skypecast lasted an hour with 35 people joining in from all over the world from England to the States to Malaysia to Italy. The participants, as well as Connelly and his publisher, were very pleased with the end result.

Skype is also introducing an exciting new community feature – public chats. Public chats are open, ongoing text conversations based on instant messaging where users can meet new people and chat about anything they fancy. A Skype user can start or join a public chat directly from Skype. Public chat hosts can moderate the flow and content of conversation.

Hosts can also reject or ban users from public chats and set rules on who can participate and observe the conversation in progress. Public chats can be promoted using simple online links and web banners in email signatures, blogs, forums, websites or even Skype mood messages.

The new version makes it easier for consumers to call ordinary phone numbers with just one click when surfing the internet. Click-to-Call is an automatic online phone number recognition feature that works with both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Click-to-Call allows Skype users to call directly from any website using SkypeOut™.

Skype’s new and enhanced user interface delivers a more simplified and personalized experience. The updated look and feel makes Skype simple to use and gives users instant access to the features they need, when they need them. Personalization has been improved through clickable mood messages and new wallpapers allowing users to customise Skype to suit their personality.

About Skype

Skype is the world’s fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing unlimited free voice, video and instant messaging communication between users of Skype Software. With over 136 million registered users, Skype is available in 27 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers. Visit Skype at www.skype.com.

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ:EBAY). To learn more visit skype.com.

Skype is not a replacement for your ordinary telephone and cannot be used for emergency calling.

Skype, SkypeIn, SkypeOut, Skype Me, Skype Certified, Skypecasts, associated logos and the “S” symbol are trademarks of Skype Limited.