Skype did not disclose how much it is paying for GroupMe in New York.

Set up in 2010, GroupMe offers its application on Apple's iPhone, Research In Motion's BlackBerry, and phones running the Android operating system. It also launched in July a version of its application for Microsoft's Windows Phone 7. A short message service (SMS) version for users without smartphones is also available in the U.S.

GroupMe also introduced earlier this month a new version of its application that supports direct messaging to a person in the group, and "questions" that can be directed to a few people, members of a group, or all known users, or broadcast over Twitter and Facebook. GroupMe 3.0 also allows users to manage groups, send messages, share photos, and ask questions from a website, without downloading the application.

As part of the deal with Skype, GroupMe will remain in New York, with its team intact, and working on its standalone application, GroupMe said . "The major difference will be that we will now have access to Skype's 175 million monthly connected users," it added.

Skype did not immediately comment on whether GroupMe will be integrated with Skype services, or continue as a separate service under its own brand.