Skype, the VoIP provider, probably almost reach the end of their search for a suitor. As reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, talks are in the formative stages for a $2-3 billion takeover of Skype by eBay. In the past, Skype had been in talks with several firms including News Corp, but all without success.

According to a source whose familiar with the situation, eBay would use Skype software - VoIP’s PC to phone call and instant messenger - to enhance its listing, similar to what they had done before after acquired PayPal. An interested buyer, for example, could call the seller to ask questions about the item. Or maybe a seller could call and offer his/her item to buyer who might be interested with the item.

Both eBay and Skype won’t give any comment about the acquition. This somehow raise a big question from several people. One of them is Andy Abramson, who authors a blog on the Internet phone industry. He questioned whether Skype was somehow intentionally trying to feed media frenzy.

“I think there’s some manipulation of the media to get them to make this into a bigger story,” Abramson said. “They’re master marketers. They understand viral marketing.”

Skype spokeswoman, Kelly Larabee, said “We’re focused on building a successful company. We’ve always not responded to rumors, and have been focused on building a company to last.”

Internet phone calling based on Voice over Internet Protocol technology, or VoIP, has become an increasingly competitive industry with dozens of players, including Vonage, SBC, AT&T and Internet giants Google, Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft. Recently Microsoft start making his move on VoIP market by buying Teleo, a provider of VoIP software and services.

[ Via BetaNews ]