Tencent launches Wechat online call

China's leading Internet company Tencent Holdings launched a new software named Wechat contact list, which enables users to make free online calls via their Wechat account, news portal sina.com reported Wednesday.

Making a free online call requires both sides to have the app on their smartphones and connect with their phone numbers as well as accounts on Wechat, which is a highly popular instant messaging app, the report said.

The new app will likely become another popular and widely used service on smartphones, which will create major competitive pressure on telecommunication carriers, according to the report.

Tencent missed third-quarter net income forecasts as revenues grew at their slowest rate in seven years and sales from its lucrative mobile gaming business dropped off.

Net income rose 46.4 percent to 5.66 billion yuan ($923.98 million) in the third quarter, and revenues were up 27.5 percent to 19.81 billion yuan, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.