Skype works to fix outage

(CNN) -- Internet phone service Skype was still trying to fix an outage early Thursday that was keeping many from using its service.

The outage started Wednesday, Skype said on its website, and the technical problems were keeping people from logging into the Internet phone service.

Early Thursday morning, the company announced on its Twitter page that it was still working on the problem. Twitter is a microblogging site that allows users to display messages.


"Thanks for your continued patience while we get everyone back online -- sorry especially to those of you who are still waiting," the announcement said.

The company said the issue stemmed from a problem with connecting to computers they called "supernodes."

"Our engineers are creating new 'mega-supernodes' as fast as they can, which should gradually return things to normal. This may take a few hours," Skype said Wednesday afternoon.

Skype allows free internet voice and video calling and has grown in popularity.

Users can also call land lines or mobile phones with Skype for a fee.