Call Mom for Free with AOL

As a special gift this Mother’s Day weekend, AOL announced that calls made using the AIM Call Out service on Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, May 11, will be free. Users must set up an AIM Call Out account and add at least $5 in nonrefundable call credit to get started. Users can then make as many calls as they want to more than 200 countries.

The free offering will run between 6 a.m. EDT on Saturday, May 10th, and 4 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 12th. Users must have a free AIM screenname and use version 6.5 or higher of the AIM service, which can be downloaded for free at www.aim.com. Once users launch AIM, they just click on the telephone icon at the base of the AIM Buddy List to get started.

Users can talk with their moms using a headset or with a microphone and speakers. Users can also make phone-to-phone calls using the Web Connect feature within AIM Call Out. Users simply enter their phone number and then the phone number of their mom. In a few seconds, their phone will ring and then connect them to their mom’s phone.]

Users will not be able to make free calls for the duration of the promotion to Myanmar, Ghana, Egypt, Brunei, Comoros, Croatia, Morocco, Oman, and Zaire. Users will continue to be charged for calls to satellite services including Inmarsat, Thuraya, and Iridium.