Microsoft celebrates 10 years of Skype...

In 2003, moviegoers flocked to see Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Finding Nemo, and J.K. Rowling released her fifth Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

And on August 29 that year, Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis founded what was to become a communications solution for more than 300 million people worldwide.

"Please join us in celebrating a decade of Skype," says Microsoft, who acquired the company for US$8.5bn in 2011.

"It’s amazing that more than 1.4 trillion minutes of voice and video calls have been made using Skype.

"That’s the equivalent of more than 2.6 million years of conversations made in only ten years’ time."

Microsoft says users have made Skype calls from the top of Mount Everest and research stations in Antarctica, even seeing orangutans enjoy video calls.