Oprah Goes Techie On All Skype Show

May 21, 2009 2:28 p.m. EST

Chicago, IL (CNS) - Oprah Winfrey is having no problem keeping up with the times. In recent months, she's featured episodes on the Twitter and Facebook phenomenon (earning a million Twitter followers in just a month), as well as endorsing Amazon's Kindle to the point of complete sell-out before the holiday shopping season. Now, on Thursday's show, Oprah is asking, "Where the Skype Are You?"

On the show, which was taped earlier in the month, Winfrey video chats with guests from strange locations all using Skype, the internet communications service. She chats with someone near the North Pole, on a submarine, and even with a passenger on a Virgin Atlantic flight that was then in the air.

She also chats with Skype president Josh Silverman from his London office. Skype has over 400 million registered users and the Wall Street Journal reports that the IP chat service already sponsors Winfrey's show. She uses the software to video in remote guests.

"The idea originated from our producers who wanted to see what extreme places they could Skype into, "said a Harpo spokeswoman. "And also how they could use this far-reaching technology to surprise viewers."