Microsoft today announced that it has acquired Teleo, a VoIP provider which has developed technology to enable the placement of PC phone calls to traditional phones. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The Redmond giant said that it will use Teleo's technology to extend its existing VoIP services.

VoIP technology is already featured in MSN Messenger as well as other Microsoft products and services.

Microsoft plans to incorporate and expand on Teleo's technologies, integrating them into the infrastructure that supports MSN and ultimately " delivering new VoIP consumer applications in future releases of MSN services".

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in San Francisco, Teleo is a privately held company.

Through its integration with Microsoft Outlook and Internet Explorer, Teleo's service was designed to facilitate click-to-call dialling of any telephone number that appears on-screen, for example through a website or via search results or email.

"Teleo has great technology to deliver superior VoIP quality and an excellent overall customer experience," said Blake Irving, corporate vice president of the MSN Communication Services and Member Platform Group at Microsoft.

Members of the Teleo executive team will continue to work closely with MSN following the acquisition, and a number of Teleo product developers are expected to join MSN.